What It Means To Forget
by Lubadub
Summary: What if Eric didn't regain his memories by the end of Dead to the World? What impact would it have on his relationship to Sookie and his position as sheriff? AU, rating for lemons
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Okay, I know what you really really want is the next chapter to Danger is a Dame, but this story has been rattling around in my head for a while now. I finally got the inspiration to throw together the first chapter, and wanted to post it ASAP. **

**WHAT IF: During Dead to the World, Eric never regained his memories? What would life be like for Sookie and Eric if he stayed Her Eric instead of going back to being Sheriff of Area 5? What would this mean for everyone else involved? **

**I'm taking some liberties here in regards to the Debbie Pelt storyline (aka her getting shot by Sookie) and the Jason storyline (him being kidnapped and turned into a werepanther). This is set mid-Dead to the World and explores an alternate path that could have been followed. I really hope you'll stick with me down this rabbit hole and are as interested in reading as I am in writing it. **

**This also marks something new for me. This is my first attempt at writing from a first person perspective. I wanted to try something new after my omniscient approach to Dame.**

**I was so happy when my amazing beta, chisaii-kitty, agreed to stick with me with my new project. She helps me get through the insanity of the writing process.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Charlaine Harris. I'm simply taking them down a different fork in the road.**

I stared down at Hallow's face, feeling my stomach churning, and I knew if I didn't get away soon, I would be throwing up in front of a whole lot of people. It wasn't that Hallow was an ugly girl; it was the expression that was twisting her features that made it gross. Sadly, it would remain that way for a very long time, considering that she was dead. Definitely dead, never coming back. In fact, her head was over here, but her body was over there.

I looked over at Pam and was shocked that I could see emotions on her usually blank face. It wasn't hard to figure it out either, she was afraid. Meanwhile, Eric was looking at me, waiting for me to decide what to do next.

I think I might have gotten ahead of myself. I should probably provide a little back story. My name is Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm a telepathic barmaid. This past New Year's Eve, I came across a near-naked man running down Hummingbird Lane and being the good-natured person I am, I stopped my car to offer him assistance. Turned out not to be a person at all, but a thousand year old vampire named Eric Northman. He's the head honcho around these parts, the vamps call it Area 5. He's also my now ex-boyfriend's boss and not too hard on the eyes.

Long story short, he was cursed by a were-witch who wanted a share in his business. When he wouldn't play nice, she stripped him of his memories and sent him running. By some act of God, he found his way to my house instead of a drainer's. I took him in and took care of him while the other vamps, namely his second in command, Pam, tried to figure out what to do.

Having a marginal knowledge about Supes, I assumed this meant war, and oh boy did it ever. Pam had gathered up the local vamps that were loyal to Eric, my friend and werewolf Alcide Herveaux got a group of weres together, and a coven of Wiccans had come out to help with the magical end. It was a gruesome battle, but Hallow wasn't supposed to end up dead. Since she was the one to place the curse, she was needed to remove it. She and Pam had been struggling against each other and in the end it was kill or be killed. Pam literally tore Hallow's head off her shoulders.

During all of this, my brother had gone missing and Alcide's ex-girlfriend was abjured from the pack for her involvement in Bill's torture. She, of course, blames me for this so it looks like I can add another person to the "Supes Who Hate Sookie" list. Plus, my Visa bill was due and I had missed a lot of work. I wonder if I can get paid for helping out with Eric?

That brings the story back to the present. I'm still standing with Hallow's head at my feet, Pam is still worried, and Eric is still confused without any of his old memories. He walked over to my side, taking my hand in his in a very comforting gesture. Did I fail to mention that during our time together Eric and I had gotten very well acquainted with each other's bodies?

"Didn't we need her alive to reverse the spell to get my memories back?"

"Yep." I couldn't take my eyes off her pained expression. Eric picked up on this, and kicked her head clear to the other side of the room. That took care of that distraction.

"So what do we do now?"

I looked to Pam for a little guidance. She had taken over Eric's duties while was incapacitated. She took an unnecessary breath, probably to clear her head. "I suppose I'll call the Queen. She will need to be informed of what has happened now that we have no way of getting Eric's memories back. She'll know what to do. Until she makes a decision, I'll take Eric back to my house…"

"No. I'm going home with Sookie. That's where I feel right."

He wouldn't know it, but he had a very Eric-like expression on his face and tone in his voice. It was one that made it very clear whatever he was saying was to be done. He still hadn't let go of my hand.

"Sookie, is that okay with you? It would only be until we get in touch with the Queen."

"That's fine. I don't mind him at all." He looked down at me with a smile on his face. We certainly had grown close these few days. "But we're leaving now. I'm exhausted and hurting all over. I just want to go home and go to sleep."

We parted ways, Pam promising to keep me updated on any progress. She looked at Eric with an expression I couldn't quite place. He was her maker, I couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt about this whole ordeal.

The drive back to Bon Temps was a quiet one. Eric didn't have much to say, and I was too tired to form words. Within five minutes of leaving Shreveport, Eric's hand found mine again. Vampires as a whole are not a touchy-feely group of individuals. They never shake hands or hug, but since Eric lost his memories, he clings to me like a baby to his security blanket. I guess that's what I've become; I was the one who kept him safe, at least tried to keep him safe.

As we walked through my back door, I finally got a good look at my clothes. My coat was covered in blood and I doubt that any amount of soaking or pretreatments would get it clean again. My jeans could probably be salvaged, there was only a light splattering on them.

Eric helped himself to a blood from the fridge, warming it up in the microwave. He sat down at the kitchen table, sipping it slowly. "You never answered my question at the warehouse. What are we going to do now?"

"You heard Pam. She's calling the Queen and..."

"That's not what I asked. I want to know what's going to happen to us. I meant what I said in the car. We can start a new life together. I don't need to ever go back to that vampire world, it would just be you and me."

I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a deep breath. "I can't think about that right now. I just want to take a shower and go to bed. Dawn's nearly here. You should finish your blood and go in the closet."

I tried to walk past him, but with his quick reflexes, he pulled me into his embrace, positioning me between his legs while he held my hips. He tugged gently, forcing me to step forward as he wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head on my stomach. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, stroking his hair as I held him close to me.

"I could love you forever. I could be a good husband and provide for you." He placed a kiss to my stomach. "At least consider my offer."

He released me and went back to drinking his True Blood. I walked to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I wanted to sit down and try to sort through all the thoughts swirling around in my head, but I knew if I did I would never make it to the shower or my bed. Sleeping on the hardwood floor didn't sound all that appealing right now.

I finally made it to the tub, letting the hot water pelt down on my back. After that battle, this mess with Eric was supposed to be off my plate so I could focus on finding Jason. There was too much happening all at once, and for the millionth time since Bill Compton walked into my life, I found myself dreaming about a world without Supes and their stupid politics.

After scrubbing myself raw in an attempt to wash all the remnants of the Witch War off me, I slid on my favorite flannel nightgown. I sat down on my bed to brush my hair out. I could hear Eric walking through the house making his way toward the bedrooms. I said a silent prayer that he would just walk into the spare room, leaving me to my thoughts. My body had other desires, wanting to feel him wrap his arms around me, holding me close to him. I didn't know if I could handle that right now.

By the sound of the squeaking floorboards, I could tell he had stopped in front of my door. I heard him speak through the wooden door, "Good night, my lover. Sweet dreams."

I walked across my room, suddenly wanting to see him once again before I went to bed. I opened the door slowly, standing before him. "Good night, Eric. Don't worry, we'll figure everything out."

He placed his hands on either side of my face, leaning down for a soft kiss. "I know, I'm not worried."

He gave me another kiss, and went into his bedroom to the light tight space beneath the closet. I went back to my bed, laying down and wrapping the blankets around me. I stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to sort my thoughts out. It only lasted a few moments, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

**A/N2: So what do you think? This is a scenario I, nor chisaii-kitty, had never come across while reading fanfic. I think it could be a really interesting perspective to explore and hope you think so too. Leave me a review with your thoughts!!**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to finishing our little murder mystery night. Expect it soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, the outpouring of support for this story is amazing! You folks never cease to amaze me!**

**I'd like to note that this is my first time writing in canon, and I just went back and reread Dead to the World, which I probably should have done before I wrote the last chapter. Sookie does get paid for housing Eric, making a line from last chapter sliiiiightly inaccurate. We'll just forget about that one, chalk it up to whatever you like.**

**Another joy of writing in canon is throwing in lemons in the second chapter without making your characters look slutty. Which is my way of saying, mmmmmm lemony goodness ahead. Yum yum.**

**Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty for getting this chapter back to me in a record breaking 24 minutes. AMAZING**

**Disclaimer: Not mine *pout***

When I woke up the next day, I realized it was just after five o'clock. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that sleeping the day away felt great. I wish I could say as much for my physical state; I hurt all over. Every muscle in my body ached from the battle last night. I was able to force myself out of bed, knowing that a soak in the tub would feel amazing.

I ran the water as hot as my skin could possibly stand, adding a cup of salts to take away all the pain. I slipped into the tub, realizing I made the water a bit too hot. It took a few minutes, but the sting of the water eventually faded away into a soothing heat. I folded a small towel, placing it behind my head to act as a pillow and closed my eyes, letting the water work its magic.

My body shivered at the mere mention of magic; I think I experienced enough of it the past few days to last a lifetime. If I never had to deal with witches like the Stonebrooks again, I could die a happy woman.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew a pair of strong hands were running across my shoulders, making quick work of the tension building there. I opened my eyes, turning around so I could make sure it was in fact my vampire behind me, not some freak who broke into my house with intentions of massaging its resident.

"Relax, lover, it's just me. Now turn back around, you must be in tremendous pain after last night."

As I settled back into the tub, he pushed my shoulders forward so he could reach my entire back. His hands working under the hot water felt like heaven. I bent my knees to rest my forehead against them, letting a quiet moan cross my lips. After he was happy my back was free of knots, he urged me to lean back to rest my head on the towel he had refolded for me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead before moving to the opposite end of the tub to rub my feet. He worked up my legs, lavishing one with as much attention as the other.

I found myself wishing he could join me in the tub. While we had some spectacular showers together, but sharing a soak was definitely out of the cards. There was no way we could both fit in this tiny space comfortably. I'd have to settle for sharing my bed with him.

His hands were suddenly out of my bath and I opened my eyes again to figure out what he was doing. As soon as I did, I was face to face with him, his lips inches from mine and closing in fast. They pressed against mine in a sweet gesture, free of hunger and desire. It was a chaste kiss, one that simply conveyed the depth that he cared for me.

He brought his hands to my face, cupping my cheeks. They felt warm from the water, and for a minute I could forget he was a vampire and my future with him could never fulfill every childhood dream a little girl has. That fantasy was broken as his lips parted and I felt his fangs run over my bottom lip.

He pulled back, reaching to the corner where my towel was waiting. He opened it in front of him, signaling that he wanted me to leave my soak so he could dry me off. I was pleased to see my body was in significantly less pain when I rose from the water, careful not to drip too much on the floor. I walked into his waiting arms where he reverently dried every inch of my skin with the fluffy towel.

He dropped it to the floor, and repeated its motions with his hands and lips, rubbing and kissing me all over, purposely avoiding all the special places that would get me going. Turns out, he didn't need to hit them to ring my bell and I was getting more and more turned on by the minute. The speed of my breathing and the little noises I was making must have alerted him to this as his kisses suddenly became more brazen, open mouthed and sucking that left little red marks in their wake.

He was on his knees, eye level with my breasts, which he studied for a moment before wrapping his lips around one pert nipple. He used his tongue and teeth expertly, enjoying my encouraging hands that were running along his shoulders and through his hair. He released one before capturing the other, showing it the same care and attention. As he moved lower, I braced my hands against the countertop, knowing what was coming.

But it never came. I looked down at him, silently pleading with my eyes for him to continue. The expression on his face was one of concern, as if he was listening to something far away.

"There's a car approaching. I can't smell them from here but perhaps we should stop this for now, just in case."

He kissed me, a kiss which held promises of a continuation. He left the bathroom heading towards the door to investigate. I quickly got dressed, throwing on the first pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt I found in my drawers. I ventured out, hating how cautious I had to act in my own home. Eric was standing in the kitchen, the back door open as he studied the darkness.

"It's Pam and Gerald. They should be in sight any second."

As the words left his mouth, Pam's car pulled into view on the driveway, both exiting as the car came to a stop. She went around to the trunk, pulling out a duffel bag while Gerald went to the backseat, coming out with an armful of button down shirts still in dry cleaning bags. This didn't look like they were here to take him home or to New Orleans to see the Queen.

"Sookie, I believe you met Gerald last night but he's never been to your home. Be a peach and invite him in."

I extended an invitation to them both, offering them both a blood, which they both accepted. I grabbed a third from the fridge figuring Eric didn't get to feed tonight either. Pam asked where Eric was staying and I pointed towards the second bedroom. She took the shirts from Gerald and headed towards the back of the house while he went back out to the car to get something else from the still open trunk. He emerged with what appeared to be a case of True Blood, the bulk kind only a restaurant would buy.

"We're not sure how long he'll be here, so we brought you a case from the bar so you could stop getting dirty looks from the locals for buying blood so frequently." As my eyes were transfixed on the crate, Pam's speaking from behind me scared me enough to cause me to jump. Of course, this made her laugh. "You humans are far too easy to scare. And too fun."

After warming up the three bottles of blood and a plate of – technically - breakfast for me, we all sat down in the living room for what I could only assume was a chat about news from her conversation with the Queen.

"I spoke to the Queen." Bingo, I knew it; maybe I am a little psychic. "She's having a few problems of a 'personal matter' at the moment, but she said she would be in Shreveport either tomorrow or the next night. She wants him to just 'sit tight' and for us to keep him out of trouble until she can get her own full assessment of the situation." Every time Pam quoted the Queen, she rolled her eyes. I wondered what Pam had against her Queen.

"We brought Eric some of his own clothes so he could stop wearing the atrocities you dug out of the discount bin. I don't think he's ever worn something that wasn't designer or custom tailored. I also did a little research on amnesia online. His own belongings might trigger his memories. It would be a good idea to take him to Fangtasia and several of his properties to see if anything seems familiar."

"His own child doesn't seem familiar, but a place where he's dead to the world all day will? This isn't a case of human amnesia, this is a spell. A spell that can't be broken since you killed the one that cast it."

That last dig was a bit unnecessary, but Pam was getting high handed with what we needed to do with Eric. Last time I checked, I was nominated to be his caretaker. Plus, she insulted the clothes I bought for him at Wal-Mart. Bitch.

I probably should have watched my words a little better, since her fangs were now down and she looked none too pleased. Note to self: stop pissing off vampires.

"It was either kill or be killed. I opted to survive, something my Master taught me." She spit that last part out, telling me that she was higher up on the ladder of beings Eric cared about than me. If she only knew the things he said to me these last few days.

"Additionally, upon searching her property we found her spell book. It's written in code that no one can read. We have it in a safe place, and intend to ask the Queen about that as well."

She apparently had enough talking to me, and turned her attention to Eric. "Are you alright? Is there anything you need? You seem a bit agitated."

"Sookie and I were about to be intimate before you rudely interrupted, came to her home uninvited and began speaking to her in an unfair manner. If I am truly your master, you would be speaking to the woman I care for deeply in a more respectful manner. Otherwise you can leave and never come back."

Pam looked properly chastised while I felt mortified. I needed to have a chat with Eric about sharing those sorts of details.

"I'm sorry, Master. I did not mean to insult you or your human."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

She looked back over at me, trying to form the words in her brain. I bet in her entire life as a vampire, she never had to say that she was sorry to a human. I was silently enjoying this. "I'm sorry for barging in, Sookie. I will behave properly in the future."

"All's forgiven. How about you write down the addresses of Eric's homes and if he and I think it's a good idea after discussing it, we'll check them out later."

"That's information that you're not privy to. Just call me on your way to Shreveport and I'll escort him."

Eric growled at her, reminding her of his reprimand. "What I meant to say was, there are many properties, all with different security codes and keys. It would be easier to escort you both to them."

Eric sat back on the couch, happy with her attitude adjustment. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me even closer to him. I settled into his embrace, feeling safe and warm even against his cold body.

"Like I said, Eric and I will need to talk about what direction we need to take. We'll be in touch. Now unless you have something else to say, let me show you both the door." Her rudeness was no reason not to be a polite hostess. Gran would roll in her grave if I didn't act properly.

Gerald was out the door before I could even get off up. Pam walked towards the arm of the couch where Eric was sitting. She dropped to one knee, bowing her head.

"I apologize again for my behavior. I need you to know I am eternally your loyal servant."

"Good. You can leave now."

I closed the door behind her, sighing as I turned the lock. Eric was on me before the breath could leave my mouth, picking up where he started before they arrived.

"Whoa, slow down there. We should really talk about what Pam said."

"Don't we always talk after we make love?"

"Well, yeah, but this isn't exactly pillow talk. It's 'big decisions need to be made' talk. Those decisions need to be made with clothes on."

"Oh." Was this thousand year old Viking seriously pouting? I took his hand in mine.

"After we make up our minds, we can go back to bed."

His face perked up, a smile once again gracing his lips. He was out of the kitchen with typical vampire speed. By the time I wandered into the living room, he already had a fire crackling in the fireplace. He sat down on the rug in front of it; a place we'd had several really good conversations. He even took the quilt off the couch to wrap around us while we spoke. He might not remember his past, but he sure picks up on how to make me comfortable.

"So Pam wants to take us to my houses and business to see if anything there is familiar. Does this work with humans that cannot remember?"

"I think so; at least it does in the movies on Lifetime. Sometimes people or places trigger memories in amnesiacs."

"Is that what I have? Amnesia?" He ran the word over his tongue a few times, trying it out.

"Nope, you're cursed but you have the same symptoms as someone with amnesia. I guess it's worth a shot."

"If you think it is worth our time to try, then I will go with you two to investigate. I suppose it would be good for me to know where my homes are."

"I guess." He was starting to rub tiny circles along my ribs. It felt so good I could barely think. I probably would have agreed to anything at that point.

"Perhaps you could choose the one you like the best and we could live there. Your home is very old. I'm sure any of mine would be nicer and more modern."

That snapped me out of it. "I beg your pardon? You were real quick to come home with me last night and even faster to jump into bed with me tonight. There is nothing wrong with this house!"

"No, no that is not what I meant. I like being here with you, your home smells familiar. I simply meant we might be more comfortable at one of my homes. I could be wrong, but I doubt I live in a place of poor condition. I examined the clothes Pam brought in; they were all of high quality."

"It's not the materials that make a house a home. It's what you fill it with that counts."

"You mean like furniture?"

I sighed, forcing myself to remember who I was talking to. He didn't say that with malice, he just didn't understand the deeper meaning of what I was saying. "No, like emotions and memories. My family has lived in this house for four generations. It's where I was raised by my Gran. It's full of happy memories and a lot of love."

He rewrapped his arms around me, snuggling me close to his chest. As angry as I was moments ago, it all seemed to melt away when I was in his embrace. That's not a particularly good thing when you're having a fight with someone.

"If it upsets you this much, we'll stay here. But perhaps we'll just invest in a larger bathtub. You looked so comfortable in there tonight; I wanted nothing more than to join you. It appeared you were satisfied with my alternative plan?"

"I would have been if Pam didn't show up." I looked up at him with a mischievous look in my eyes. "So tomorrow night we'll go to Shreveport and drive around with Pam for a while. Are you happy with that?"

"If it means we've made a decision and can go make love, then yes, I'm ecstatic."

He scooped me up in his arms, darting to the bedroom with a speed I couldn't track with my eyes. He lay me down on my bed, pulling the blankets around us to ward off the cold. He kissed me with a hunger that I gladly reciprocated. I was tearing at his clothes as he was pulling at mine, and soon a mess of denim and cotton covered the floor. His eyes passed over me from head to toe, taking in my now nude form. The way he licked his lips as he took in every inch of me did wonders for my self esteem. When a man as gorgeous as Eric thinks your sexy, it's hard not to agree.

We were a mass of limbs working in perfect harmony. While we were still learning all the places, we were both on a pretty steep learning curve. He had me panting in minutes and I'm sure he would have been too if he needed to breathe. I'd 'heard' from plenty of women at Merlotte's that their man had no idea how to pleasure a woman. Eric should be teaching a master class on it, it could make him a fortune. Well, more of a fortune than he already has.

I was on the verge of my orgasm, and Eric was going unnaturally slow, letting it build up at an agonizing pace. As soon as I felt his fangs pierce my breast, it all came out in a wave that rocked my body and ripped a scream from my throat. He drank deep, playing my body like a master musician bringing me to release again and again. When I felt like my body would give out, he kissed my lips as his own dragged him into the depths of pleasure.

As we lay basking in the afterglow of another marathon love making session, he looked at me with a smile. "Another few orgasms for the jar, lover?"

"Mhm. They get me through the day while you're asleep."

"If I dreamed during my daytime slumber, I'm sure they'd be of you."

I yawned and buried my face farther into Eric's chest. "We need to stop talking about sleep. It's making me tired."

"Then sleep. I'll hold you until the sun comes up."

I tucked myself into his side, letting my brain drift away into dreamland. He was stroking my hair, humming a long forgotten song. His actions brought sleep to me much faster than normal, not that I'm complaining. It was something a girl could get used to, but I'm not sure I should. Those thoughts could be saved for tomorrow. For tonight, I'll just sleep in the arms of a vampire who puts this barmaid above all.

**A/N2: I just love a warm fuzzy ending for a chapter. Keep the reviews coming in, they'll motivate me to finish the finale of Danger is a Dame. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So now that** **Danger is a Dame (which you should totally read if you haven't already) is complete, I can focus on this story full time. Well full time minus my intense new semester at grad school. It's the first week and I'm already overwhelmed. But that's what writing is for: an escape from reality. I hope reading this provides the same escape too.**

**Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty, who is beta-ing two different Book 4 "What If" stories like a champ!**

**Disclaimer: These are Charlaine Harris' toys, I'm just playing in the toy box.**

I woke up the next morning for my lunch shift at Merlotte's just in time. I would have to rush a shower and shovel breakfast down my throat, but I could make it in time. I climbed into my little bucket of bolts and drove down Hummingbird Lane, turning into the parking lot with five minutes to spare. I walked through the employee's entrance, stopping in Sam's office to drop my purse in the locked drawer of his desk and fix my ponytail in the mirror.

Just as I was about to head out, he was coming in. He grabbed my wrist, keeping me in the office and shut the door. Judging by the expression on his face and the emotional tone of his mind, this wasn't going to be a good conversation.

"I heard from Alcide yesterday and apparently the fight didn't end as expected. Eric still doesn't have his memories back?"

I sighed, picking imaginary lint off my pants as I tried to come up with a good answer. "Nope, Hallow was killed before she could reveal or reverse the spell. I still have Eric at my house. The other vampires are trying to figure out what to do next."

"I don't know why you're still involved, Sook. Seriously, they were the ones that couldn't keep the witch alive long enough to fix this, it should be on their heads now. It's not fair to you."

"To be honest, Sam, this isn't the same old Eric. This version is sweet and caring. I don't mind keeping him around. And it is my responsibility to keep Eric safe until this is all over. You don't know all the details, so don't go jumping to conclusions."

"Then why don't you paint me a better picture?"

"I think I'm falling for him. He's everything I've ever wanted in a guy, well except for the fact that he doesn't have a pulse, but even that doesn't bother me anymore."

"But he's not himself. Eventually he'll be set right and all this goes away. Then he's back to the selfish son of a bitch you're always complaining about."

"But what if it doesn't? What if he's this Eric forever?"

"As usual, nothing I have to say to you about vampires is going to change your mind so we'll just leave it at that."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I guess I'll go start my shift."

I stormed out in a huff, acting more like a little kid than a grown woman. I just finished placing the order from my first table when the one person who I actually wanted to see came walking in; Jason. I ran over to him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. It was a short hug since he smelled like week old garbage.

"Where have you been, Jason? You better have a good explanation as to why you disappeared off the face of the planet for the past week without so much as a phone call to your only sister or anyone for that matter!"

"I'll tell you anything you want, but please can I get a glass of water and something to eat? I'm starving."

I brought him over to a table far away from anyone else so his smell wouldn't offend the other customers. I placed an order for a hamburger with the kitchen staff and poured him two glasses of water. I didn't want to have to get up and refill it mid-story. Luckily it was early on in the afternoon still and there was only one table in my section with guests. I made sure they were okay before sitting down with Jason.

"So spill. Where have you been?"

"Remember that girl I was here with on New Year's Eve, Crystal Norris? Well, she convinced me to come home with her. That crazy bitch chained me to her bed and told me she wasn't letting me leave until I got her pregnant. Something about needing fresh blood in the gene pool. Did you know the entire town of Hotshot is full of crazy inbred hicks?"

I lowered my voice, leaning as far over the table as I could so only he would hear me. "They're were-panthers. Crystal changes into a panther every full moon. Did she bite you?"

"I know, she told me. No, no biting. The whole idea of me knocking her up was so the father would be human."

"I can't believe they all lied to me! I drove out to Hotshot looking for you. Crystal and Calvin both lied right to my face saying they didn't know where you were. Calvin even asked if I would consider getting pregnant with his child to get new blood in the town. Why'd she let you go? She couldn't have known she was pregnant already."

"I guess she did, because she told me I was free to go. I gotta come up with something good to tell Catfish so he doesn't fire me. You think my burger will be ready yet?"

I got up to check with the kitchen, bringing my table their meal and Jason his burger. He tore into it, inhaling his lunch in the blink of an eye.

"So what's going on with the whole Eric fiasco? Did he remember everything yet?"

I proceeded to tell him the basics of the story, now that more people were beginning to file into the restaurant. I didn't want anyone to overhear something they shouldn't.

"So, are they still going to pay you? I negotiated hard for you to get that 35k."

"I haven't asked. I don't even know what I want to happen. I really like this Eric without all the baggage."

"Keep me posted, sis. I'm going back home to shower five times to scrub the stink off and try and salvage my job. You mind if I come over for dinner? I could really use some home cooked lovin'."

"I get off at five, so come over around six. I'll have something cooked up for you, don't worry about it. But you can't stay long, I'm taking Eric to Shreveport tonight."

He paid and left, giving me a kiss on the cheek and Sam a friendly wave. Of course, as soon as he left the building, I filled Sam in on all the details. Bonding over Supe gossip helped us get over our fight from before. Our spats never lasted long, Sam and I always found ways to forgive each other.

Five o'clock couldn't come fast enough. I filled in Arlene on the status of my tables, which were now her tables and got out of there as fast as I could. I drove up my driveway a few minutes later, letting myself into the house.

I heard a lot of noise coming from Eric's room and ran to the back bedroom to see what was going on. There he was in a storm of designer clothes as naked as the day he was born.

"Lover, I think Pam is lying to us. These are not my clothes. They are tight and uncomfortable, some are even obscene."

I tried to hold my laughter back, but couldn't help a few giggles that spilled out. "That's how you dressed, Eric. You liked the show off to the ladies."

"And how did that make you feel? It must have been terribly offensive for those whores to be dangling all over me if you were present."

"I told you, we weren't dating before all this happened. I was with Bill then. It didn't bother me one bit." I carefully stepped in between the piles of dress pants and shirts. I dug through the bag finding a red Fangtasia t-shirt and a pair of black jeans.

"Here put these on. They should be comfortable enough."

"Don't you prefer me without clothes?"

"I do, but I don't think my brother will. He'll be over in a little while to have dinner. Then we're driving out to Shreveport to meet up with Pam. You should be wearing something that resembles your old self so you fit in at Fangtasia. Now clean this mess up! I won't have you turning my house into a pig sty."

I left him to clean up the clothing tornado and changed into something more comfortable myself before I started cooking dinner. I searched the fridge and realized I had the right ingredients to make Jason's favorite meatloaf. I set it in the oven to cook, relaxing on the couch to watch some television before Jason came over. Eric must have heard me settle down, as he came out of the bedroom to snuggle with me before we ate. He was kissing and nuzzling my neck and it felt like heaven.

"Would you like something to eat too?"

"I wouldn't mind devouring you right now."

He kissed me so hard it left me breathless. I pulled back reluctantly, it was getting late and I didn't want the first thing that Jason saw to be me and Eric making out on the couch.

"I don't think we have time for that now."

"Then I'll wait to feed until later when we have the time."

He continued kissing my neck right until the oven timer went off, signaling the meatloaf was ready. I didn't want to walk away, but I'd rather deal with my own urges than a burnt down kitchen.

Jason walked in minutes later, just as I was setting the table. As I pulled him in for a hug, I noticed he smelled considerably better. We sat down and Eric joined us, warming a bottle of blood for himself. Jason filled us in with the complete details, and I did the same about our run in with the witches. Our talk at Merlotte's left something to the imagination. We still couldn't talk openly about Supes in public yet.

After nearly wiping out the entire meatloaf by himself, Jason announced that he was leaving. I was thankful since it was starting to get late, and Pam wanted us to meet her before the bar got too busy. She didn't want to have to either explain Eric's condition to everyone or have to erase the fangbangers' memories with glamor.

During the hour long drive to Fangtasia, I explained the basic premise of the bar to Eric. He couldn't comprehend why people would pay money to come look at vampires and be treated badly. I had a tough time explaining it since I didn't know why myself. I had only gone when Eric summoned me outside of that first trip when I was looking for answers as to why my friends were dying.

I drove around behind the bar to the employee's entrance. Eric walked with an awkward gait to his step, due to his tight jeans. The jeans I picked out for him were a more relaxed fit, these hugged his legs like a second skin. Despite his discomfort, I liked these better. I'm guilty of watching him walk towards the back door, specifically the way the black denim stretched across that award winning backside. Without even turning around, he somehow caught me staring.

"Are you going to watch my ass all night or are we going into the bar?" He turned to look at me, an amused look on his face. I just loved the way he cocked his eyebrow when something tickled his fancy. Over the past few days, that something was more often than not me.

I caught up with him at the rear entrance, a blush flooding my cheeks. I knocked on the door, which immediately opened to reveal a smirking Pam.

"Welcome home, Master. Sookie, always a pleasure to see you." Looks like someone had an attitude adjustment since yesterday.

She led us down the hallway, stopping first in Eric's office. He walked around the space, touching nearly everything. He picked up little trinkets, running his hands over them as if he was trying to remember every memory attached to them. He opened the closet, flipping through every garment trying to figure out the last time he wore each piece.

The entire time, I stood in the doorway with an impatient Pam. She and I were both anxious to know if anything would happen. He turned to us from his place in front of the closet.

"This one smells like Sookie, but nothing else is familiar." He was holding the clothes he was wearing in Jackson during another of our harebrained schemes gone wrong.

"Perhaps the bar area would be more familiar? Or your booth?" Pam was being way too helpful. Something he said to her last night must have struck a chord.

"Perhaps. Lead the way."

We walked through the bar, sliding in to sit at his booth. One of the waitresses brought over two bottles of blood without even being asked, and a diet coke, which I had to order. I suppose they were still getting to know me and my orders, but was that something I really wanted? Should every waitress in Fangtasia know my drink order by heart? I tried to shake the idea out of my head and focus on Eric's dilemma, tonight was about him not me.

A few different vampires came over to speak with Eric, but Pam chased them all away. Very few knew the truth about Eric's condition and those in the know were working very hard to keep it that way. There weren't many fangbangers there yet, but those that had congregated were very loud broadcasters. I'll give you one guess as to what they were thinking about and it wasn't the price of gas. I had to throw my shields up and focus intently on not listening to their thoughts to the point of it giving me a headache. Eric picked up on my pain and suggested we leave the bar to investigate his other properties.

Pam let Clancy know she was leaving with us, leading the way to her BMW. It was a beautiful deep midnight blue, four door sedan that didn't look over a year old. I left the front seat open for Eric, but he slid in right next to me in the back. He pulled me close to his chest, placing a kiss to the crown of my head. He started rubbing my temples and all traces of pain were gone in an instant.

"Enough with the groping, let's head to your main residence. By the way, I spoke to one of the Queen's handlers earlier. He said the Queen would be here tomorrow evening."

Pam buckled up, pulling out of the lot far too fast. I moved into the seat, putting my own seat belt on. Vampires don't like to drive at the speed limit, something about not being able to die just makes them so unnecessary.

"Do vampires really need to wear seat belts?" I couldn't recall if I had ever seen Bill wear one.

"It's to avoid tickets. It saves time from having to glamor a cop trying to teach me a lesson."

Within a few minutes, she pulled into a gated community, scanning a card that cleared the way. She turned down several side streets until she pulled into the driveway of a small ranch style house. Sitting in the driveway was his baby; a cherry red Corvette. Pam and I were both stunned as he walked right past it to wait at the front door. Even I was betting on his remembering of his car, it was his prized possession. Pam opened the front door, turning off the alarm and stepping aside so he could wander the halls of the house.

I followed behind him, more so out of curiosity to see what Eric's favorite house looked like. He started at the back of the house, going through each of the bedrooms. Just like in his office, he touched everything. There wasn't much to touch, he lived a very Spartan existence. We walked into the master bedroom, where I assume he spent his days. The room had no windows but a huge four poster bed dressed with black silk sheets. I ran my hand over them and I can't remember ever touching anything softer.

We came back out into the living room and his eyes were immediately drawn to the mantel above the fireplace. He stood before a massive sword which looked as old as Eric. It probably was, all things considered. He took it down off its pegs, just feeling the weight of it in his hands. He closed his eyes and mechanically let it swing in swirling patterns. It looked like something out of an action movie, just a man and his sword. They became one, you couldn't tell where one ended and the other started. I never thought I'd describe this type of movement as beautiful, but that was the only word that came to mind.

Pam broke the silence which had fallen over us. "I read about that online. That anecdotal memories get lost, but basic functional knowledge remains."

Well that made me feel like an idiot. "What?" And that made me sound like one, too.

"He doesn't have his memories but he's still able to do the things he used to. Eric is, and always has been, a warrior, of course he would remember how to handle his blade."

"And drive a car, or use the microwave."

"Exactly."

Yay, affirmation.

Eric reverently placed the sword above the fireplace, crossing the living room to come back to where Pam and I were standing. "So that has no bearing towards regaining my memories?"

"Sorry, Master, but no. We should be moving on to the next house. We have seven more properties to examine before the end of the night. That is unless you want to go to some other business holdings. That adds a few more addresses to the list."

Six houses down the list and no memories gained. We were walking around the penthouse of one of the tallest buildings in Shreveport, surrounded by highly modernized furniture that looked pretty but hurt like hell to sit on. I jokingly asked Pam if he ordered everything out of an IKEA catalog. She didn't find the humor in my joke. I was just starting to think she liked me, too. Oh well.

Every house we stepped in, he had the same expression on his face. He didn't recognize anything, the night proving to be an epic failure. An emergency called Pam back to the bar, something about a overzealous fangbanger so Eric and I sat alone in the penthouse. We stared out at the skyline at a wall of floor to ceiling windows, holding hands but not saying anything.

"Lover, what does the Queen have to offer me tomorrow? Let's not meet her, let's just run away. I don't have to ever remember what I had because I didn't have you. We could just start fresh in a new city."

"We can't just run away from the past Eric. You should at least try all the different options for getting your memories back. Driving around tonight was just the first avenue to explore. The Queen might know something to reverse the spell or how to decipher Hallow's spell book."

"You're not understanding my point. Why do I need to remember who I was? You seem to like this version of me far better. From what you've described, I wasn't leading a very positive life. I have a chance to start over, to forgive one thousand years of mistakes and wrongdoings."

He had a valid point. I didn't want the old Eric back, why was I fighting this hard for something I was so against? We continued to stare out into the night. I never did come up with a good answer to his question.

**A/N2: So who else fell completely in love with no-memories Eric in book 4? That was my inspiration for writing this story, he just seemed so sweet and lovable; I wanted more! **

**As mentioned in the first chapter and evident in this one, I'm taking a different route around the Jason/were-panther storyline. I never liked the idea of turning him into one, so I did without it. Opinions?**

**Please leave a review, it really makes my day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Now that FF is in the process of catching up on missed alerts, I feel better about posting this new chapter. I didn't want people to miss the update so I held out. Don't hold it against me :)**

**Thanks, as always, to my beta, chisaii-kitty who worked for her praise this week. Apparently after working on my math homework for so long, the editting portion of my brain turned off.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.**

I was heading home from work after another uneventful lunch shift the next evening, dreading the fact that I'd be driving into Shreveport again. I didn't mind helping out with the cause, but the drive was long and my car had plenty of miles on it already. I pulled up the driveway, resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't have enough time to be able to shower and eat dinner while completing both at a leisurely pace.

I walked into the house and was accosted by a blur which I could only hope and assume was Eric. Before my tired brain could process what was happening, Eric was back in front of me, complete with a shit-eating grin. It was one I couldn't help but copy, it was just so infectious.

"What's got you so happy?"

"I just stole and hid your keys."

"What are you talking about? What does that mean?" I reached into my pocket and sure enough, they weren't there.

"I've hidden your keys somewhere in or around your home. Now you cannot drive us to Shreveport, we cannot meet with the Queen, and I'll stay this way forever."

"That just means that Pam's going to call all angry, yelling at me for not fulfilling my end of the deal. And I can't deal with that right now. I'm going to shower, go get my keys."

"No."

"You know what, not my problem. You're a grown up, even if you don't remember it. You don't want to go meet the Queen, you tell Pam."

"Fine. She's my child, she has to listen to me. I'll explain the situation to her and then join you in the shower."

Nothing I said would keep that vamp out of my shower, and if I'm being honest with myself, I really wanted him in there with me. Maybe I could bribe another massage out of him.

I got the water nice and hot, letting it pelt down on my back, melting the stress out of my muscles and the grease and spilled beer off my skin. Within a few minutes, Eric was in the bathroom with me, pulling the curtain back. He didn't look happy.

"She told me I needed to get my shit together and start acting like a sheriff again. She told me that if I didn't act like myself in front of the Queen, I would have my title stripped away. She said that as if that would be a bad thing. She yelled at me and then hung up. I can see why you didn't want to make that phone call."

As he was speaking, he stepped into the shower and was rubbing glorious circles into my back with soapy hands. Therefore, I lost my ability to speak and reason.

"I recovered your keys and locked all the doors. Then I hid them again in a new spot. If you rescind Pam's invitation, they won't be able to get to us."

I wrapped my hands around his wrists, pulling his hands off my body. He couldn't be putting me into my happy place if we were having this conversation.

"You have to face your responsibilities, Eric. You're a sheriff, you answer to the Queen. You have to at least talk to her. And stop hiding my keys!" I hit him playfully in the chest, sending soap suds all around us. "Wait, Pam and the Queen are coming here?"

"When I was adamant about not going to Shreveport, she told me that they would just come here."

"I really wish you didn't do that. The house is a mess and I don't feel like playing hostess all night. How am I supposed to act in front of a vampire Queen anyway?"

"You're asking me?"

As he started laughing, I couldn't help but join in. Eric had an amazing laugh that started deep in his chest and spread warmth all over his face. I don't think I'd ever heard Eric laugh like that before he lost his memories.

The hot water started to run out, so we finished up and toweled off. I dressed in jeans and a simple long sleeved shirt. I didn't want to dress formally, but I didn't want to look like a slob either. I put some leftovers in the oven to warm and set out to tidy up the living room. Eric sent me into the kitchen to eat while he finished cleaning, which I was awfully thankful for.

The amazing scent of the fireplace started to fill the house and it made me relax even deeper. He joined me in the kitchen, sitting down beside me. I noticed he dressed in his nicer clothes, a blood red button down and a pair of black dress pants. Upon further inspection, I noticed he finished his outfit with the flip flops I bought him at Wal-Mart.

"You should put some decent shoes on, those clash with the rest of your outfit."

"It's my rebellion. If they're going to force us into this meeting, they'll have to look at my feet. You should join me."

"How about I wear my ugliest slippers? My feet are too cold not to have anything on."

In a flash, he returned with my beat up pink slippers. He rubbed my feet before putting them on, in an effort to warm them up.

"I've decided that I'm going to be civil, but not nice to the Queen. You can act however you like."

"Considering I'll be in a room full of vampires that could rip my throat out at will, I think I'll be nice."

"If any one of them lays even one finger on you in a harmful manner, I'd kill them before the thought would even cross their minds."

With Eric being sweet all the time, I had nearly forgotten that he was a cold blooded killer. His last statement brought that reality back to the foreground of my mind, just like watching him rip enemies to shreds during the Witch War.

"I've upset you."

"I just don't like to think about you killing people. Or vampires. Unless I'm in danger, then it's all I think about."

"You have strong survival instincts."

"Not strong enough or I wouldn't be in this mess."

He wrapped his hand around mine. "You're in this mess with me; your protector. If there would be anyone to have at your side in a fight, it should be me."

I walked around the table, crawling into his lap. I just had the sudden urge to be held. As he wrapped his arms around me, I could tell he wasn't complaining.

"Have I ever let you get hurt?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to answer that. I mean in Dallas, there was a gun fight and you took bullets for me, but I would have never been there if it wasn't for you. And then in Jackson I got staked at a night club but you saw to it that I got healed. That's when you gave me your blood."

"See, I've already proven that I can take care of you, protect you. You should feel safe."

He kissed me sweetly, which I gladly reciprocated. His head shot up and I reached out with my mind to figure out what caught his attention. I picked up a car full of voids, which meant vampires, which meant Pam was here with the Queen and a few other guests.

I tried to open the door, but sure enough, every lock installed was engaged. I'd need my keys to open it.

"Eric, for the last time, go get my keys."

"No. I don't want to deal with them. They'll give up once they can't get in and go away."

"You know as well as I do that's not going to happen. Now, go find them."

At this point, they were already knocking to be allowed in.

"Sookie, open the door." Pam was not in a good mood. This evening was not going to be pleasant.

"I'd love to Pam, but Eric locked everything up tight and hid my keys. He really doesn't want to talk to the Queen."

Another voice chimed in, one that I didn't recognize. "Northman, as your Queen, I command you to open this door or I will break it down and stake you myself."

"I will not have my door broken down, Eric, nor do I want you staked. Stop acting like a little kid and go get my keys!"

He made his was out of the kitchen, moving far slower than he was capable of. I really didn't want my door broken down so I begged the gathered vampires to be patient while he found them. He returned a few moments later, keychain in hand. He opened all the locks and the door, revealing a party of four outside my door, three vampires I didn't know and Pam. One of them looked awfully familiar though.

"Sookie?" It was my cousin, Hadley. She'd run off a few years ago, her life took a very different path than mine. This was obvious when taking into consideration that she was dead and I was not.

"Oh my goodness, Hadley, is that you? I haven't seen you in ages!" I reached out my arms for a hug, but realized she couldn't come in to give me one since I hadn't invited her. "Come on in, give me a hug!"

She squeezed a little too tight; she must not have been a vampire for very long as she didn't know her own strength. Her turning must have been the personal matter Pam mentioned.

"This is sweet and touching, but how about you invite the Queen and her other child, Andre, in as well?" Pam walked in, opening the fridge to warm up a few bottles of blood for our guests. Apparently, she was a better hostess than I was.

Eric looked down at me, shaking his head in a silent plea to not extend an invitation. As much as I wanted to make him happy, I wanted these vampires out of my house as fast as possible. "Won't you both come in?"

They walked through the door, right past me without another word. Andre, a blond haired, blue eyed kid, did a thorough search of the house. He couldn't have been out of his teenage years when he was turned. The Queen didn't look much older. She had creamy white skin with auburn hair and brown eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous.

Pam came close to me, and for a moment I was afraid. She leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Her name is Sophie-Anne Leclerq, but you will address her as Your Majesty. She's very annoying, much more tolerable when she's being adored. Andre is her oldest child and sworn bodyguard. Don't piss him off. Hadley was turned last week, how do you know her?"

No matter what age, dead or alive, ladies liked to gossip. "She was my cousin. I haven't spoken to her in years."

"Interesting." Pam filed away that tidbit for later, walking into the living room with a tray full of blood. I took Eric's hand and walked in behind her, taking a seat next to him on the couch opposite the royal party.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sorry for the inconvenience of having to drive out here."

Sophie-Anne rolled her eyes at my attempt to break the ice. "After the trip from New Orleans that last thing I wanted to do was sit in the car for another hour to drive to the middle of nowhere to have this meeting."

"You should be glad I'm speaking to you at all. If I had my way, I'd be gone with my Sookie to never deal with any of you again." Oh, Eric, you sure do have a way of sugar coating bad news.

"Is that what you want, Viking? You've served under me for decades. I've let you keep to yourself in this God forsaken corner of my state, never troubling you except to collect my share of your earnings. You're the wealthiest sheriff in the state, one of the richest in any area in the nation, especially considering how small and unimportant Shreveport and its surrounding cities are. Those in your area are loyal to a fault, glad to serve under a sheriff such as yourself. And now, you want to throw it all away for a human?"

"Yes."

"You most certainly are not yourself. I didn't believe it when Pam told me, but now I can't argue. During the drive over here, Andre examined the spell book. He likes to consider himself an amateur cryptographer but even he couldn't make out the writings. Pam has been running the area in your absence, correct?"

"Yes." He sure was laying the 'civil, but not nice' act on thick.

"Then I'm stripping you of your title and naming Pam as the new sheriff of Area 5. Should you regain your memories, it will be up to her to decide whether she wants to relinquish control."

"That's fine."

"It is definitely not fine. Eric, you love being sheriff, being in control of the area. You can't just throw that away." Why was I fighting so hard for him to return back to his old ways? I liked this new Eric and yet I was the loudest voice for getting the old one back.

"Human, he is not fit to act as sheriff right now. Pam described him as confused and completely out of character. He would make horrible decisions not in the best interest of my kingdom. Now why don't you run along to your boyfriend's house and leave us to discuss this matter."

Boyfriend's house? How did she know about me and Bill? Did he have to report his daily life to his Queen? "Not that it is any of your business, but Bill and I broke up. This is my house and I will not have you remove me from my own home."

"You and Bill broke up?"

"Yes, he left me for his maker."

"The bond between child and maker is very strong. Andre hasn't left my side since I turned him centuries ago. Neither will Hadley. It is not your place to get between them. You should forgive him."

"I think this meeting is over, you should leave."

Eric rose to his full height, clenching his hands into fists. "I agree. All of you, out of my beloved's home. Now."

Andre took the Queen's hand and led her outside. Hadley stopped to give me another hug. "I'll be in touch, cousin. She really isn't that bad, she sure loves me a whole lot. She's curious about you, she asks me about you all the time." With that, she was out the door too.

Pam walked over to Eric, who would not even look at her. "This isn't what I wanted, Master, you have to believe that. Please know that when you return to your senses, I will gladly give you your title back."

He didn't say a word; he just stared into the fireplace. She took that as a hint to leave and was out the door, closing it behind her. I heard the car speed down the driveway and out of our lives.

"That went well. Why was she so concerned with my relationship with Bill?"

"I don't know, but that is one of the memories I wish I had. Something is being hidden from us, and it might put you in danger. We should talk to Compton at once."

"It's a little awkward between us; I don't really feel like talking to him right now."

"It's in your best interests. Let's go. Don't mention that my title was taken away, I can use it as leverage to get what I want out of him."

I was about to grab my coat when there was another knock at the door. I listened in, hearing the void of a vampire. Fearing that someone left something behind I went to answer it. As I opened the door, Bill was standing on the other side, waiting to be invited in.

"Bill! We were just talking about you, come on in." We're definitely not going to manipulate you to get information.

He walked in, greeted Eric, and took a seat in the living room in front of the fire. I offered him a blood, but he declined.

"So what do we owe this visit? Sookie and I were just about to sit down and watch a movie." Real smooth, Eric, make it look like we weren't on our way to interrogate Bill about his dealings with the Queen.

"I just realized Sookie and I haven't had much time to talk after I came home from South America. We have some loose ends to tie up."

"No we don't, Bill. You and I are over, broken up."

"Plus, she's with me now."

"Perhaps Sookie and I could have this conversation alone, sheriff."

"Not on your life, Compton."

Just to prove his point, he sat down on the couch opposite Bill, making himself as comfortable as possible. He held his arm out to me, indicating he would like it if I cuddled up next to him. I didn't have a reason to be mean to Bill, so I simply sat down next to Eric, closer to the fire. Eric looked annoyed that I wasn't in a snuggling mood. He'd just have to deal.

Bill shifted around in his seat for a while, looking very uncomfortable. "Sookie, I miss you. During my time away, my thoughts were consumed by you. There has to be a way we can work this out."

Eric wrapped his arm around me, which just screamed "MINE" without actually saying the word. He knows how much I hate that word. I think he might have actually growled. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the slightest bit sexy.

"Bill, I have no desire to go back to the ways things were. You were ignoring me for weeks before you up and left me for Lorena. I'm through with you."

"But we had something so special. You can't throw that away based on something you don't understand."

"I hate when you vampires tell me I don't understand your politics or society. You can't cheat on your girlfriend and then play the vampire card. I won't stand for that!"

"I know I hurt you, but please, you have to give me a second chance."

"You raped me in the trunk of a car after nearly draining me! There's no second chance after that!"

Eric jumped out of his seat and had Bill by the throat before I could blink. I guess I left that part of the story out when I told Eric about what happened in Jackson.

"Eric, let him go. He wasn't himself when it happened, he had just been tortured and hadn't fed in a long time. He didn't mean it."

"If he didn't mean it, then you could forgive him or give him a second chance. But you won't, so it meant something."

I grabbed Eric's wrist to try and pry it off of Bill's throat but it wouldn't budge. "Eric, stop! Please, I'm asking you to let him go. Do it for me."

I could see the wheels turning in Eric's mind. "I swore to protect you, and killing the vampire who hurt you is just part of that."

I needed to appeal to his logical side. "If you kill Bill, you'll need to deal with Pam and the Queen again!"

That got him off Bill real fast. Bill gave me a look and ran out the door. I couldn't blame him.

"I hate to repeat myself, but that went well. We got nothing out of him."

"Yes we did, Lover. The Witch War was three nights ago. He could have come over here at any time to speak with you since returning from South America, but he didn't. It wasn't until the Queen heard of your separation and suggested you get back together that he came back. Groveling, might I add."

"You think he's working with the Queen on something?"

"Didn't Hadley say the Queen was interested in you?"

"You don't think that Bill was feeding information to the Queen about me? Why would she want to know about me?"

"I don't know, your telepathy perhaps? That does make you very interesting."

"I don't even want to think about it. I think I'd like a good snuggling and then to go to sleep. I have some hours to catch up on."

"Clothed or unclothed?"

"Doesn't matter to me, I'll probably just fall asleep on you."

"Clothed it is." He scooped me up in his arms bridal style, carrying me to the bedroom. "Prepare for the snuggling of a lifetime!"

**A/N2: Dun Dun Dun!! Shit's hitting the fan in Bon Temps, Louisiana! Will Amnesia Eric prove to be a good investigator? Will they be able to get to the bottom of things? I appears that I have a knack for writing mysteries which is what this is evolving into. Keep reading and reviewing, you guys are amazing!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow, this is a fast update for me. Inspiration strikes at random times and this chapter just poured out of me. **

**Thanks to my beta chisaii-kitty, as usual.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

If there was one conclusion I could reach, it was that there was only one member of the Supe world that I could trust at this point in time. That would be Eric, who knew jack squat about his life outside of the past two weeks. His instincts were still sharp, however, which was a good thing. That meant he was able to see the bigger picture during our meetings with both the Queen and Bill. He was also able to connect the dots between those two, and it was not painting a pretty picture.

All signs pointed to Bill working for the Queen, probably passing on information about me. It really made me wonder how far back it all stemmed. Had anything that transpired between Bill and I been real? Did he ever love me or was that part of his dealings with Sophie-Anne?

I was pulled out of my musings by Arlene screaming at me to come back inside from my break. I had been outside in the employee parking lot getting some air. I was stressed out, which meant I couldn't keep my shields up. My head was throbbing from the entire town's thoughts on top of my own confusion.

I finished the rest of my shift on autopilot. The tips were pretty meager as a result. I was really hoping that Pam would pull through with my cash soon otherwise going far into debt was looking like a serious option. Hopefully now that she was Sheriff, she could cut me a check.

I had worked it out with Sam to work afternoon shifts while Eric was staying with me. I really didn't want him to be alone for too long at night. I ducked into Sam's office to grab my purse when he gave me a pained look. He was also feeling guilty, which I picked out of his head. As a shifter, his thoughts weren't always clear to me, but I could get a good idea of his emotional state most of the time.

"Holly just called me. Her little boy came down with a stomach bug and there's no one else to replace you. I'm going to need you to stay for the dinner shift too."

"Well, what am I supposed to do with Eric?"

"He's a grown man, he can handle himself until later. You can leave after the dinner rush, I'm not asking you to stay until closing. Please, Sookie, I wouldn't ask if there was another option."

"Fine, the sun's down now so I'll call Eric to fill him in. You mind if I just go outside to call him quick?"

He gave me the okay, so I stepped outside yet again. Without the sunshine, it was proving to be a cold Louisiana night. I wish I had the foresight to grab my jacket before going out. I called my house phone, but it just kept ringing. I guess Eric felt strange answering my phone. Finally, the answering machine picked up.

"Eric, it's me. If you're there, you can answer the phone. I just need to talk to you." I waited a beat, giving him time to get to the receiver. When that didn't happen, I continued with my message. "I guess you're not there. I need to stay late here at Merlotte's so don't expect me back at the house anytime soon. I'll talk to you later."

I walked back inside, rubbing my arms to try and warm up. I went right back to work, letting my body dance the familiar steps through the restaurant. After working here for so many years, it didn't take a whole lot of thinking to make it through a shift.

The next few hours passed by uneventfully. A few drunk college kids started a fight, which Sam broke up quickly. Drunk hicks liked my ass far too much and got a little handsy. I took care of that one myself, with a well placed glare and a few choice words. The shock of the night walked in around nine in the form of Eric and Bill. They sat down in a booth in my section, ordering two bottles of blood.

I needed to continue tending to my tables, so I left them alone for a little while. They looked deep in conversation and didn't seem to mind that I wasn't paying much attention to them. Things finally seemed to quiet down and I made my way to Eric's side. I slid in the booth next to him, melting into his embrace when he wrapped his arms around me. It was glorious after working a double shift. Not two minutes after I sat down, Bill excused himself, wishing us both good night.

"Do I smell bad or something? He couldn't get out of here fast enough."

"Oh, Bill and I were just catching up. Nothing to worry about." I was able to read his hidden message, there was something to talk about but it couldn't be done in public.

"I'll go ask Sam if I can head out. He said I could leave once the crowd started to thin."

"I'll be waiting on bated breath, Lover."

I gave him a kiss and a smile, talking to Sam behind the bar. He cleared me to go home and I darted to the back office to get my purse and leave my dirty apron in the pile.

Eric was already waiting for me out by my car, leaning against the side of my little yellow Honda. I opened the doors, watching him fold his massive frame into the tiny interior. He was going to start in again about getting me a better car, I just knew it. But it didn't come. He just reached over, rubbing patterns into my palm with his thumb. He was uncharacteristically quiet the entire drive, just staring out the window. That worried me most of all. By the time we were walking into the kitchen, I was ready to burst.

"Spill. I want to know everything you and Bill talked about."

"He's young and not good at schooling his features yet. Even in my current state, no one knows anything I don't want them to. There is most definitely something going on between the Queen and Bill."

I sighed, running my hands over my face and through my hair. "How can you be so sure?"

"Whenever I brought her up, quite innocently might I add, he grew tense. It would be indistinguishable to the human eye, but I was studying him the entire length of our conversation. I spent every minute since I rose with him, trying to learn the truth behind his façade. What cemented his involvement was his reaction whenever I brought you up."

"What happened?"

"His face was a mask of guilt. There is something beneath the surface. I wish Scooby Doo was here."

"What? Where did that come from?"

"In the early morning hours when you're asleep there isn't much for me to do outside of watching you sleep or watching television. If I watch you sleep for too long, I feel the need to wake you and ravage you, so I opt to watch television in those instances. Scooby Doo and his friends are excellent at solving mysteries. They always figure out who was behind the evil scheme in thirty minutes."

I looked at him in a new light after that statement. He wasn't saying that to be cute or lighten the mood, it looked like he meant what he said.

"Well, we'll just have to do our own investigation. Do you think we could get Pam on our side? Since she's a sheriff, she might be privy to more information than we are. I'm sure everyone in Sophie-Anne's inner circle knows you've had your title taken away by now."

"Good point. I think Pam would do anything to get back in my good graces. Did you see how dejected she looked last night when I would not address her? If all else fails, I can just command her as her maker, right?"

"Right, come on, we've got a case on our hands. To the Mystery Machine!"

Eric spent the drive to Fangtasia teaching me the lyrics to the Scooby Doo theme music. I was definitely going to be humming that the rest of the night. As much as I didn't want to drive an hour last night, I didn't mind it tonight. I suppose I just had more at stake in this matter than I did with meeting the Queen.

We made our way into the employee's entrance. When I peeked into Eric's office, I saw Pam had already set up shop behind his desk. She was on the phone while reading over something on a laptop. When she noticed us standing in the doorway, she immediately hung up on whoever she was having a conversation with and closed her computer, putting it back in her bag.

"Eric, Sookie, what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

Eric took charge of the meeting, taking a seat on the other side of the desk, ready to get some answers. "What do you know, or did I used to know, about Compton's involvement with Sookie?"

"You hated the fact that she was with him. You wanted her for yourself and Compton fought you on the matter at every chance. 'Sookie is mine,' was heard around here more often than 'What's your favorite blood type?'"

"Do we know anything about Compton working with the Queen?"

She paused for a minute, staring at Eric, trying to formulate the best answer. That wasn't a good sign. "Maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation in front of Sookie. There are some sensitive items that I feel I should reveal to you."

"Anything you tell me, I'll tell Sookie. So there's no need to keep secrets."

"Well, you had been keeping it a secret from her for a while."

Now it was my turn to stare at Eric. He signaled for her to continue. "You had suspicions there was something happening behind your back ever since Compton returned to Area 5. You and I had been investigating it for a while, using a connection we have at the Queen's compound in New Orleans. He wasn't able to give us much, but he told us that Bill was dispatched from his home in New Orleans shortly after a human girl caught Sophie's attention."

She had a look on her face; as if she was conflicted about the information she was giving us. I could see what Eric meant about young vampires not being able to control their emotions. I could read everything that passed through her mind. With Eric, I could never tell what was going on in that blond head of his.

"After meeting Hadley last night I was able to piece a little more of the puzzle together, especially after Sookie told me they were cousins. On the car ride back to the Queen's private jet, Hadley said something to the Queen that upset her. I pretended as if I didn't hear it, to spare my own head. She said, 'I guess you were right, looks like Sookie can't read vampires.' She had been projecting thoughts at you."

"What does all this mean?"

"Before living in the house across the cemetery from yours, Bill lived so far up Sophie's ass he could smell her breath. Hadley's confession all but confirmed to me last night that she informed the Queen of your telepathy. Anyone that's met you for five minutes could tell the Southern Gentleman act would get you weak in the knees, another fact that I could assume Hadley revealed. Sophie sends Bill to learn more about you, bond himself to you so she would have you at her beck and call."

Eric slumped back in his seat and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. "Bond himself to me, what does that mean? Like make me fall in love with him?"

"No, form a blood bond with you. Did you ever consume his blood?"

"The first night we met, I got attacked and almost died. He gave me a lot of blood to save my life."

"It also tied you to him, allowed him to feel your emotions and you to feel all warm and fuzzy towards him. I'm sure that wasn't the only exchange."

I shook my head, confirming what she said. I couldn't form words, I was in shock. Bill used his blood to manipulate my feelings. "But I had a lot of Eric's blood in Jackson and I didn't fall in love with him then."

She quirked her eyebrow at my wording. "Then? Dear Sookie, are you in love with him now?"

"That's none of your business, nor is it why we're here. Why would the Queen want me?"

"Now that she knows you can't read vampires, she probably doesn't. But we can't be sure."

Eric sat deep in thought, processing everything that had been discussed. I could see the pieces in his mind and he was trying to determine the next move. He looked up at Pam finally. "None of what we discussed leaves this office. You've done well tonight, Pam, thank you."

He got up to leave, missing the smile on Pam's face. I figured I caught her in a moment of weakness and now would be the perfect time to pounce. "Also, I was told I would be paid for keeping Eric safe and away from Hallow. Any chance you know when that's going to be?"

She reached into the desk drawer, pulling out a checkbook. "What did we decide, thirty thousand?"

"Thirty-five." Greedy vamp trying to cheat me out of money!

She cut the check and we were out the door, back in the car on our way home. Again, Eric was quiet. I tried to break the silence that had fallen over us, but he never picked up the conversation.

We walked into the house and he made a bee line for the fireplace. He had the fire roaring shortly, sitting down on the floor, leaning against the couch deep in thought. I sat down beside him and he all but ignored me.

"Are you okay?"

"I have a lot to process; there are many factors in this equation. I'm trying to determine if you are safe or not and what will come of everything that's been put into motion."

He finally tore his eyes away from the fire, staring into mine with an intensity I hadn't seen since before he lost his memories. "You must be tired from your long work day and the drive. Take a shower, and by the time you are out, I should have come to a decision. We'll lay in bed and talk."

He was dismissing me! I couldn't believe it, but everything he was doing was for me so I couldn't be completely offended. I did what he suggested, and sure to his word, he was in my bed, facing the bathroom door. His lower half was tucked under a sheet, but I could only assume he was undressed. I dropped the towel I wrapped around me, and for the first time in a long time I didn't feel embarrassed about my naked body.

I joined Eric in bed and he gave me a toe curling kiss that would go down in the history books as one of the best kisses ever. He pulled back, still holding my face.

"There is much to discuss, but I want to talk about the most important item first."

We could talk about the weather conditions in China for all I cared, as long as he kissed me like that again. I nodded so he would continue.

"I love you, Sookie Stackhouse."

That one floored me. Of everything we learned tonight, he decided that was the most important. Glad to see he had his priorities in order. I didn't know what to say to that, and I couldn't speak since I knew if I opened my mouth, I would start crying. He took that as a sign to continue.

"I don't know much but I know that I feel safe and right with you. You care for me like no one else would or could. You allow me to enjoy every inch of your body and take your blood. You trust me, wholly and without question. And I feel all these things as well. That is what love is, or should be."

During his speech, I had started crying so I just let it out. He wrapped me in his arms, holding my head to his chest, running his hand down my back in a comforting gesture. He was humming again, and I felt it vibrate in his chest. I finally found my voice and looked up into his ice blue eyes.

"I love you, too." There was so much else I wanted to say. I wanted to voice my fear at letting my heart open to another vampire so quickly after my first love shattered it to pieces. I wanted to tell him that I didn't know if I could love the man he used to be. I wanted to let him steal me away to any corner of the world so it could be just the two of us. But I couldn't. I couldn't say everything I felt, wouldn't say anything to ruin this moment.

Instead I pressed my lips against his, molding my body to fit his. There wasn't space between us to slide a piece of paper, every inch of skin was in intimate contact. As he rolled me on my back, he joined our bodies as one, connecting us on a physical level to match the emotional connection we just opened. We didn't need words; we let our bodies do the talking. His body language was clear, he needed to claim me and even though I would never vocalize it, I needed to be claimed. I wanted to give my entire being to him. In that moment, nothing else mattered; my hardheadedness, his tendency to be high handed. In that moment, I was his and he was mine.

There was no rush to our rhythm, just the simple enjoyment of each other's body. He stared into my eyes as he made love to me and I felt as if I could see into his soul. He picked up his pace, pressing his face into the juncture of my neck and shoulder. I was sure he was going to bite, but he didn't. He kissed my skin softly and breathed in deeply, trying to capture the moment. I wrapped my legs around his waist trying to pull him closer, if that was possible.

I regained the ability to speak in the nick of time. I begged him to bite me, my happy moment was so close. It was building inside of me, filling every inch of my body, I knew it was going to be a good one. He bit my neck, not something he did often, tangling his fingers in my hair, holding my head closer to him. He groaned into my neck and I felt his release spilling deep inside me. The minute his fangs hit my neck, I saw fireworks that would make the Fourth of July jealous. Oh yeah, it was a good one.

He held me close afterward and our hands continued their exploration. He was tracing my ribs and I was running my fingertips along the muscles in his arms. I didn't want this moment to ever end. Slowly, the orgasm-induced haze began to clear and the rest of the repercussions of the night started to filter into my mind again.

"Eric, what are we going to do about..."

He silenced me with a kiss. Staring deep into my eyes again he said, "I will not allow them to ruin this moment. We will come up with a plan tomorrow night. For now, let's just have this."

I relaxed into his arms again, trying my hardest not to think about Bill or the Queen. I tried not to feel manipulated by Bill's actions or worried about what the Queen wanted to do with me. I pushed the negative thoughts to the back of my mind, focusing on the fact that I was wrapped in the protective embrace of a thousand year old vampire and that we were in love. I think both are very good places to be.

**A/N2: Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you, we've got some work to do now! I bet you'll be singing that all day now! What's Sookie going to do with all this new information? Stay tuned for the next installment! I'm off to read the Allegro update and suggest you do the same! Support your beta!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi everybody! I don't normally post on Mondays; I like to save the day for a teaser. Since I made you wait all weekend for this chapter, I decided to post today and put something extra special up in the teaser forum. If you head over there, you'll find a tease for my Valentine's Day One Shot featuring the cast and crew of Danger is a Dame. **

**I must have been in a hell of a mood because this chapter is extra lemony! Reader beware. ;)**

**Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty for catching all my mistakes. A bonus thank you to Kyss Ericsson and Lindsay K for their help via Twitter. Thanks for your research skills!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine :(**

When I woke up Saturday morning, I sat on the couch and had a good cry. I cried because I felt lost and confused and could really use my Gran at a moment like this. I was confused about the direction my life was taking. The only certainty I had in this moment was that I had fallen in love with a 6'5" thousand year old amnesiac Viking vampire who was currently asleep in the closet of my spare bedroom. I also could cling to the fact that my ex-boyfriend had, in all likelihood been manipulated into dating me by his superior and probably never loved me. This same ex was my first lover as well as the first person I ever loved.

I decided that sitting on the couch crying was not the best way to spend the day, so I turned on the television, hoping to find something that would help calm me down. I took it as a sign from a higher power that everything would be alright when Scooby Doo was the first show to come on. I watched for a few minutes, humming the music when I realized it made me feel more than calm, it made me feel good.

Reflecting on the past few days, whenever I was with Eric I felt good. It felt amazing just to lay in his arms while his fingers traced indecipherable patterns on my skin. I could go from having a terrible day or a tough shift to floating on cloud nine in seconds just by his very presence. I had never felt that way with Bill. Sure, I loved the silence that his mind allowed me, but did I really love him? According to Pam, I felt attracted to him because he gave me a huge dose of his blood. Were any of my feelings my own?

More importantly, were any of his feelings real? If the Queen sent him here to seduce me, she picked the right guy. Bill was everything I ever dreamed about. He did everything I needed, he loved me, he protected me – no, wait, that was Eric. It was Eric who had my driveway redone, it was Eric who came to Dallas undercover to keep an eye on me and take bullets for me, it was Eric who drove me home from Jackson. I thought back to all the times I was in mortal danger and the one who saved my ass every time was Eric. Not this version of Eric, but Sheriff Northman. Pam hinted that he was infatuated with me, could he have had true romantic feelings back then?

If I thought any more on the topic, my brain would shut down. I needed to distract myself from my feelings to avoid overwhelming my senses. I did what my hands and head knew best; I cleaned. I cleaned every inch of every surface in the entire house. It took me all day, but when I was finished I had a home I could be proud of. Part of me even wanted to invite the Queen back so she would be more impressed. A very small part.

I was just putting all the cleaning supplies away when I heard the trap door in the closet open. I had been so consumed by my actions I hadn't even noticed that the sun had gone down. He pulled me up from the floor and gave me another award winning kiss. I had thoughts of opening a kissing booth and the money I could make from renting those lips out when the jealous part of my brain popped up. His love was more important than money anyway.

He finally let me come up for air and I knew I had one of those brainless smiles on my face. Like I said before, I just felt a hundred times better when I was with him. I could feel the oxygen returning to my lungs when he pulled me in for another kiss, this time pressing me up against the wall in my kitchen. He was running his hands through my hair, tugging ever so lightly. His lips never left mine as he stripped away both of our clothes. He lifted me and my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. There is only one way to explain what happened next; he ravaged me against that wall. I never understood the expression "between a rock and a hard place" better in my life. I could feel the warmth of the wall behind me and the coolness of his chest pressed against mine; the dual sensations drove me wild. Our position had me at the perfect height to assault his neck and collarbone with kisses so I did. I kissed and nipped every inch of available skin. If his moans were any indication, he really liked what I was doing.

He quickly spun around, and I landed flat on the kitchen table. He continued taking me with a passion and vigor he never had before. I thought my body would split in two, but I didn't want him to stop. The excitement was building in my body and when we locked eyes, I just fell apart. My orgasm washed over me once, twice, three times before I could feel it start to wind down. I watched his face as his eyes trailed down my body, resting on my breasts which were bouncing in rhythm to his thrusts. He stared at them, mesmerized by their motion before leaning down to bite one. He drank deep which pulled yet another release from my very soul. His body clenched and I knew and could feel him finish within me.

We stayed there for a moment; I was still laying on the kitchen table with my legs around his waist and he was half standing, half laying on me with his head buried in my shoulder. He kissed my neck and healed the wound on my chest with his tongue, taking the extra second to wrap that expert mouth around the nipple for a kiss that sent shivers through me. He stood up abruptly, helping me up from my prone position.

"I apologize for the suddenness of that. When I rose, I could feel you in the house and knew I had to have you. I couldn't stop myself if I tried."

I rose to my tiptoes to kiss him. "Never feel the need to apologize after you make love to me. You didn't hear me complaining, did you?"

He laughed and smiled. "No, I suppose not. But now that that's out of our systems, we should formulate a plan for your protection. We still don't know the Queen's intentions."

I suggested a shower first, considering I had spent all day sweating. I must have reeked of cleaning chemicals. We stepped into the shower together, taking the time to wash every inch of the other's body. He lathered my hair for me, running his fingers through it as he rinsed the shampoo out under the water.

Once we were dry and dressed, he started another fire. Something about sitting before its glow and warmth seemed to sooth him. It must have been a something deeply ingrained in him from when he was alive. I could imagine him sitting in front of a roaring fire with his Viking buddies talking about whatever it was that Vikings would talk about. We always did our best thinking and talking in front of a fire, so I didn't think twice about joining him on the floor, wrapped in another of Gran's quilts.

"As upset as you are with Bill, he's just a pawn in this game. It's the Queen we need to worry about."

"I'm not feeling too good about that creep Andre, either. There was something about his eyes that just didn't feel right. It's like he was staring a hole into me."

"From what Pam said, he's her most trusted child. He must know everything that transpires in her court. I just wish I had my memories. If only I knew if I knew anything that's hidden from us now. As a sheriff, I must have known about her plan."

"What if she was hiding it from you, too? Pam said you were suspicious of Bill, which meant you didn't know the entire story about why he was here."

"So the Queen lied to me. Had him working right under my nose without my knowledge of it." He was clenching his fists and even I could see the anger in his eyes. Then all of a sudden, it all faded away. "No, I can't think about her deception now. It is more important to figure out if you are in danger. I don't know what I would do if she stole you away from me."

He traced his hands gently down the length of my face. His eyes shone with love and devotion. I knew in my heart that he would do anything for me.

"When Bill first brought me to Fangtasia, you were very interested in me."

"Can you blame me?" He had a smirk on his face that brought my mind elsewhere.

"Focus! When you asked if you could drink from me, he claimed me. He told you that I was his, and you backed off. Can't you just tell the Queen that I'm yours now and she'll have to leave me alone?"

"I get the impression that if there is something that Sophie-Anne wants, she simply takes it. As a Queen, I doubt she has to respect any verbal claim one of her underlings makes."

"Is there anything more serious than a verbal claim?"

"I don't know. I don't remember any of the customs I practiced as a vampire."

"Let's call Pam. She said something about blood bonds last night. That might make it so that the Queen couldn't take me away from you."

I got the phone, dialing the number for Fangtasia. It bothered me slightly that I knew it by heart already. I handed the phone off to Eric, knowing that whoever answered would respond better to him than to me. I left the room to let him speak to her privately, knowing that she felt uncomfortable sharing some things in front of me last night. If she knew that I wasn't listening, she might open up more to Eric. Plus, I knew anything she told him, he would pass on to me. I busied myself in the kitchen, making a simple dinner for myself.

By the time I was done eating, Eric came into the kitchen, hanging up the phone. He took a seat opposite me, taking my hand in his.

"We have several options. One is the blood bond that you mentioned. It occurs when a vampire and human share blood at least three times. The more frequent the exchanges, the stronger the bond becomes. When the bond is in place, the vampire and human can sense each other's emotions and know the location of the other."

"That doesn't sound too bad, I guess. What are the other options?"

"A vampire and human can pledge. It involves the passing of a ceremonial blade from one party to the other. In the vampire culture, this binds the two together. Pam compared it to a human wedding ceremony."

"Those aren't legal here in Louisiana. I think a few states up north have legalized marriage between vampires and humans."

"Human law means nothing to Sophie-Anne. She would only care that we are married by our own laws."

"Are you seriously suggesting we get married? You only just told me you loved me last night."

"I don't need a lifetime of memories to know how deeply I love you, Sookie."

"I guess I'm just not ready to jump into something resembling marriage. Would a blood bond be so bad?"

"I wouldn't know."

I tried to think about all the times Eric and I had shared blood. The first time he drank from me was when I was attacked by a maenad and he had to help drain the poison. Then I sucked a bullet out of his chest in Dallas, swallowing some of his blood. I drank a few drops during the maenad's attack at the orgy, when I was so scared a bit down on his hand that was covering my mouth. I drank from him yet again in Jackson to heal the massive stake wound in my side. I couldn't even begin to count the number of times he drank from me since he lost his memories. What can I say, there's something about having a vampire drink your blood during sex that makes it so much better.

We probably only needed to exchange blood once or twice to cement a bond between us. I wondered what it would be like to know how Eric was feeling. What I loved most about vampires was the silence I heard from their minds. Would I really want to open that can of worms with Eric? How would I tell his feelings from my own? And did I really want to install the vampire equivalent of a GPS chip on myself so he could always find me?

I was understandably overwhelmed. So much had happened in the past few days that I couldn't even begin to process my emotions. I took a long drink of water before I even dared to open my mouth and say something to Eric.

"I wish you had your memories."

"I don't, at least not most of the time. I see this as a chance to start over."

"The old Eric would know exactly what to do right now."

"And then you would have been mad that I made a decision without consulting you. This way, we formulate the plan together and no one gets hurt."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I need to have a stronger claim to you, especially since I am no longer Sheriff. I know anything I do, Pam will support with the power that was bestowed upon her. As Sheriff, she can claim you as an asset to the area but the Queen still has ultimate jurisdiction. If you were my bonded, she would not be able to take you away without me coming along."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but it sounds like a fairly solid plan."

"You could have lied."

"And then you would have been angry."

I crawled into his lap, straddling his waist, tucking my feet around the legs of the chair. I rested my head on his shoulder and he began to stroke my hair. "I just want to protect you from all the evil in the world."

"Let's do the blood bond. If it even has a slim chance of keeping me away from the Queen, it's a risk we should take."

He reached across the table to grab the knife I had used on my dinner. He raised it to his neck and made a small cut that began to leak blood. "Drink quickly, before the wound heals"

I wrapped my lips around it, tasting his blood as it filled my mouth. As I drank, I could feel him begin to harden against my center. He was moaning with every draw, holding my head tightly to him. I rolled my hips a few times, wanting this to be as pleasurable for him as it was for me when he drank my blood. By the time I went for my second mouthful, I felt his fangs pierce my neck. The feeling of drinking from him while he drank from me was strange, yet exquisite.

I could feel the energy flowing from my body into his and vice versa. The wound began to close and he rasped out "Bite it, it will reopen."

I did my best vampire impersonation and chewed at the cut. The blood began to pour into my mouth with a renewed flow and it tasted even better than before. All too quickly, I could feel him stop drinking and he pulled me from his neck. I wanted nothing more than to tear off his clothes and go at it on the kitchen table all over again. It was an animalistic passion that I had never felt before in my life. In my mind, if I couldn't feel his length inside my body in the next second I thought I might die. Then it dawned on me.

"That's your lust I'm feeling, isn't it?"

The look in his eye was all the answer I needed. My clothes were shredded and I was once again flat on my back on my kitchen table. This time, the feeling was punctuated by a glass and plate falling to the floor, shattering on impact. There is no way for me to properly describe what I felt during our coupling. I could feel my own pleasure, but I could feel his, too. There was no separation, just one big fireball of yum. When we finished together, I thought I would explode from the combination of his orgasm and my own. It was the single most intense sensation I've ever felt. My body was twitching for a solid five minutes. I couldn't form a coherent thought, so I just enjoyed the weight of his body on top of mine.

When he finally let me off the table, I looked at him with a coy smile. "Let's ignore the bad stuff that's happening all around us and just do that all night. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty invincible right now."

"I think that's my invincibility you're feeling."

"I don't care, it's awesome. Do it again."

We did. We found every horizontal, vertical or oblique surface in my home that we missed during the first marathon love making session before the Witch War. After we determined my house was properly christened, we made our way back to the bed. With a little reflection, I realized of all the sex we had that night, none of it occurred in bed.

We spent the rest of the night experimenting with the bond. I thought of memories that made me feel extreme emotions; times when I was terrified or overjoyed. Eric did the same and we practiced weeding through our own feelings and identifying the others. Now if I was ever in danger, Eric would not only feel my panic but be able to locate me immediately.

Considering everything that happened that day and night, I was exhausted. Eric held me close, and I used his chest as a pillow. He even pretended to breathe so I could enjoy the motion of his body. I let it rock me to sleep, enjoying the feeling of our intertwined love flowing back and forth across the bond. This wouldn't be so bad.

**A/N2: I'll be honest, I was a little worried heading in this direction. Some people are not big fans of the bond but I think it has its own role to play in the series. I hope I portrayed it in a new, more favorable light. Leave a review and let me know what you think. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: What a tremendous outpouring of support from you amazing readers! I'm glad so many of you like this interpretation of the bond. I'm excited to be toying around with it, even more excited to have you along on this journey with me!**

**In other news, the Valentine's Day One Shot I teased on Monday is officially finished and sent off to my fantastic beta, chisaii-kitty. It will be posted sometime this weekend so keep an eye out for it!**

**Disclaimer: Not It!**

This whole blood bond thing was proving to be somewhat exciting. While I was working my shift at Merlotte's during the day, I could feel a gentle hum in the background of my mind. I assumed it was my connection to Eric since he was currently dead to the world. As the sun was setting, that hum amplified; I knew in that moment he regained his senses. A few hours later, it felt like a calming blanket was wrapped around me. Even having to work another double shift, this time thanks to Arlene leaving me high and dry, couldn't break my spirit.

I looked up just as Eric walked through the door, and he didn't look particularly happy. If I could read the emotions on his face that meant something bad was happening. I had the sneaking suspicion that something bad involved me. That was confirmed when Bill walked in the restaurant and right back out when Eric shot him a look. Something big was going down in vamp land.

The rest of my shift, I was picking up on Eric's moods. I could tell he was trying to be calm, probably for my sake, but I also got vibes of anger and frustration. Not one second after the clock struck one; Eric was at my side, reminding me it was time to go home. Of course, I knew what time my shift ended, so I finished my closing tasks and cashed out. I got my purse from Sam's office, walking into Eric's broad frame as I left. I expected him to be waiting by the car again, but tonight he wasn't letting me out of his sight. My anxiety level jumped at how overprotective he was being.

He led the way to the parking lot, and all his senses were on high alert. His eyes were constantly darting from side to side. When we made it to the car, he immediately locked his door, reaching over me to repeat the action on my door.

"You've been stressed out all night, what is going on?"

"We'll talk once we get home. Drive quickly."

I pushed my little car as fast as it would go, pulling up the driveway in record time. He guarded my every movement until we were in the house where Eric promptly locked all the doors. He looked me dead in the eye, "Rescind the invitation of every vampire you've ever let in this house. Except me, of course."

I ran through all the vampires I've had in my home, uninviting every last one of them. I left Pam for last, asking Eric if I should add her name to the list. He thought on it for a moment, and decided her invite could stand. When he was certain that everything was locked down securely, he sat me down on the couch.

"The Queen called Pam, demanding your services for a party she's throwing. Pam refused and informed her of our bonding. Needless to say, she did not take the news well. Once Pam alerted me to this, my phone rang again, this time it was Sophie-Anne herself. She was furious with me, threatening to stake me herself if I dared to stand in her way."

"And Bill?"

"I think he was coming to the restaurant to take you. He wasn't counting on my presence there." He wrapped me in his arms, pressing kisses into my hair. "I'm so sorry that I dragged you into this."

We both visibly jumped when his phone rang. He'd been leaving it off the past few nights to avoid the vampire community. I saw the caller ID before he answered it, relieved it was only Pam. I listened to his half of the conversation, but there wasn't much to hear. He was giving one word answers or grunts to signify his disappointment. He hung up on her without saying good bye, something I noticed vampires do a lot.

"You are still required to attend her party, but an invitation has been extended to me, as well. The party is Saturday, leaving us only the next few days to come up with a plan."

"I thought we came up with a plan, isn't that why we bonded last night?"

"The bond did what we needed it to do, I suppose. At least you won't be in New Orleans alone now, or even worse, with Compton. We all know he wouldn't be able to defend you if danger should arise."

"So what are we planning now?"

"How to keep you safe while in her area. I won't let you out of my sight for one moment during the night, especially the night of the party. What we need to worry about is what will happen to you during the day."

"I could call Hadley; she might still have some human friends that I could hang out with."

"Hadley is already too embedded into the Queen's court; I wouldn't trust one word out of her mouth."

"True, I wouldn't really want to hang out with her human friends anyway. She ran with the wrong crowds."

We talked about it all night, trying to come up with a plan to keep me as far away from the Queen's business as possible. Claudine's name came up, but Eric decided that if I smelled like fairy in the middle of vampire headquarters, it would not end well. I mentioned Jason, but Eric didn't want to involve him in vampire business anymore than he already was.

I brought up Sam or Alcide as a valid diurnal bodyguard, but Eric was opposed to it. Sam had proven that he could hold his own against the evil end of the Supe spectrum; he helped Eric and Bill protect me during the orgy and he was part of the Shreveport pack's show of force on Bill front lawn against the Stonebrooks. My defense for Alcide was even better, since it was Eric who put me in his care for our trip to Jackson. Eric finally relented and told me to call Alcide first thing in the morning. We spent the rest of the night in bed, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted.

* * *

Right after my cup of coffee, but before my shift at Merlotte's, I called Alcide. The phone rang a few times, and I got a little nervous that I called too early. Finally, someone answered on the other end, but it was most definitely not the person I wanted to talk to.

"Hey, Sookie Stackhouse. What are you doing calling my fiancé's cell phone at this hour?"

Fiancé? Last time I checked, Alcide was marrying me. I laughed in my head at our little rouse but pulled it together to talk to that piece of were-trash, Debbie Pelt.

"Well good morning to you too, Debbie. I'm obviously looking for Alcide, since I called _his_ cell phone, not yours."

"He's busy; he's getting ready to go to work. I kept him preoccupied all morning, if you catch my drift."

Yuck, how tacky. I heard him in the background, and then Debbie's voice saying I was a telemarketer. "We don't want any of what you're selling, so lose this number, bitch."

She hung up on me and I fought the anger bubbling up inside me. Guess I could cross my name off that wedding list.

I finished getting ready for work, heading to the restaurant a little early so I could talk to Sam. This was a huge favor to ask him, especially since whenever he had to leave he left me in charge. With the both of us gone, who would watch the bar? I hoped it was still worth asking; I considered Sam a dear friend and it would make the daytime loneliness a lot easier with him there.

I stepped into his office cautiously, still not entirely sure how to start this conversation. He must have picked up on my anxiety, because he flashed me his brightest smile. It was the kind to melt your heart and made me feel right at home with him.

I gave him a little back story on what was going on, about our bonding and the Queen's rage, and then my request for him to tag along with us. I gave him my prepared defense that Eric would pay all his expenses, he'd have his own hotel room at night and it would only be a few days. We were leaving Bon Temps Friday and coming home Sunday.

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, taking in everything I told him. He gave me the parentally patented look of disappointment before taking the opportunity to talk while I caught my breath.

"You just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper into vamp politics, don't you? Now you're starting trouble with the Queen? That's not really a place you want to be."

"I know, but I wasn't exactly given a choice. Trust me; this isn't exactly how I saw my life playing out. But think about it this way, if you're in New Orleans with me, you can keep an eye on me."

He sighed, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. "Alright, I'll come with you and Eric. But I don't want to have to hear the two of you going at it all night." He added the last part with a playful smile.

"Just for that, we'll be extra loud. Heck, with your shifter hearing, you would hear everything even if we were trying to be quiet."

"Don't make me change my mind."

I worked the rest of the afternoon shift with a smile on my face. Our plan was set and now all I had to worry about was keeping my head firmly attached to my shoulders once we headed down south.

* * *

Friday snuck up on me way too fast. Pam had arranged for a rental van from Anubis to drive me and Sam to New Orleans, while she and Eric were tucked safely in the back in travel coffins. It was nice not to have to make the six hour drive myself. Sam and I joked around all afternoon, catching up on some much needed hang out time.

Shortly after nightfall, the driver pulled over at a rest stop, opening the rear hatch so Eric and Pam could join us in the van. Those of us with human needs took the opportunity to freshen up and stretch. We drove the last hour strategizing a detailed schedule for the weekend. We only had to make it to Sunday morning, then we were hauling ass back to Bon Temps. I should say the others strategized; I just snuggled into Eric's side and listened passively. I agreed with everything they were saying, I didn't have anything constructive to add.

The van stopped, pulling up in front what looked like a mini mansion. There were beautiful windows and French doors covering much of the second floor. Standing in the courtyard was my cousin, the Queen and someone I didn't recognize. We all piled out of the car, which caught their attention. The woman I didn't recognize did not look happy. She was pretty cute otherwise, she was petite with a brunette pixie cut and bright blue eyes.

"Oh hell no, no strange vamps are staying in my house. I don't care how much you pay, Hadley, you were still human when you signed that lease. Trust me; I'm not thrilled with renting it out to you now. You haven't been here in weeks; you're behind on your rent and now you want me to unlock the doors so strangers can stay here? Not going to happen."

"Witch, no vampires are staying here. Only the human and the shifter will be staying. I don't want my home reeking of dog. Hadley and the other two will be leaving with me."

That caught Eric's attention. He went to charge the Queen, presumably to inflict bodily harm, when Pam grabbed him, using all her strength to keep him away from Sophie-Anne.

"Did I fail to mention that part to you, Master?" she added with a sheepish grin. Oh, she was going to get it. "It was her condition for bringing Sam along."

Eric's eyes glowed with an anger I hadn't seen in a very long time. He was beyond enraged; I don't think there's a word in the entire English language to describe how angry he was. I wondered if there's one in his native tongue. The brunette wisely backed away towards the house, hiding behind Hadley and Sophie-Anne. I grabbed Eric's hands, trying to divert his anger. He was shaking with emotion, slowly regaining his senses as I looked into his eyes, thinking calming thoughts.

"It's going to be okay. That's why we brought Sam along, to keep me safe when you couldn't. We'll still spend every minute of the night together; you'll just have to leave once the sun comes up."

"You heard Pam in the car, the Queen's residence is massive, and she can house you and the shifter comfortably. She's just being an evil shrew."

"Sticks and stones, Viking. You should be nice to me, or I'll just turn your pretty little girlfriend while you watch, bound in silver."

I shivered at her casual tone when she mentioned making me a vampire and torturing Eric. This was not going to be an enjoyable weekend. Hadley, ever the oblivious idiot, came over to me, wrapping me up in a big hug. She pointed back to the brunette, who was visibly freaked out over what was happening on her property.

"That's my landlord, Amelia. She lives downstairs, and I live upstairs. Well, I lived upstairs, I moved into Sophie's compound a few weeks ago. Guess I failed to mention that to her and now she's being pissy. Sophie told me she paid my rent, but I guess Ames never got that check. You and your friend are going to stay here. I wish I could have tidied up a bit, but Amelia wouldn't let me back in."

I had to wonder whose side Hadley was on. I knew she was crazy about the Queen, but she looked genuinely happy to see me. I could imagine us sitting in her living room, painting our toe nails and catching up on family gossip. I wanted that to happen, but I know it never could. Hadley didn't seem to be concerned that she sold me out to Sophie-Anne and could have gotten me killed. Anything I told her now, the Queen would know before sunrise.

Hadley walked over the van, grabbing my overnight bag from the driver. Sam looked me in the eyes and silently asked what we should do. He took his bag when the driver handed it to him, but didn't follow Hadley towards the apartment. I really didn't know what to make of the situation, so I looked to Pam and Eric for help. Pam gave me a shrug; she didn't know either.

We had all just walked into a trap and nobody knew the outcome. Sophie-Anne had effectively destroyed the game board; we had to start again at square one. Someone needed to speak up, come up with something on the fly. That person used to be Eric, but I guess it was going to be me now.

"Sam and I would love to stay here at Hadley's old house. Would you mind terribly if Pam and Eric stayed a bit, just to help me get settled in. I don't know my way around town, but I know Pam does."

Sophie rolled her eyes. She really wasn't impressed by any of my attempts at royal manners. "Fine, but I'm not staying any longer. Pam, you and Eric will be at my compound in one hour, not a minute later. Human, I expect you at the compound tomorrow night as soon as the sun sets. The shifter is not invited."

With that, she stalked off to her waiting car. Hadley handed my bag back to me and then was bouncing behind her. She reminded me of a trained poodle. We all looked at each other for a minute before Amelia broke the ice.

"So you're a shifter? That's cool." She eyed Sam up and down, mentally appreciating everything he had to offer. I couldn't blame her; before Eric, Sam was the star of some of my favorite fantasies. She was a loud broadcaster, I could hear every thought that passed through her head.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I'm Sam and this is Sookie, Eric and Pam. Mind if we head upstairs?" At least one of us had remembered our manners. That Sam Merlotte was quite the gentleman.

Amelia brought us upstairs, pausing for a moment to try and figure out if she should really invite Eric and Pam in. She didn't want to, she didn't trust vampires, especially after the display Eric put on downstairs. I could see her mental image of him ripping her limb from limb. It wasn't my favorite portrayal of my boyfriend. I needed to work fast to get her on our side.

"Eric used to be Sheriff up in Shreveport, but now that's Pam's job. They're both trustworthy, you don't have anything to worry about."

Pam gave me an amused look, probably because she knew I trusted her as far as I could throw her. As much as I didn't like her in the past, right now she was my number one ally. As Sheriff, she had a little more pull than Eric did. I hope some of the vampires working at the Queen's compound knew Eric when he was Sheriff and would treat us with respect.

Amelia finally sighed and relented, inviting the two vampires into the apartment. She gave us the rundown on where everything was, noting that she hadn't really touched the place since Hadley ran off. I went in the kitchen, saddened to see only a few expired items. Looks like Sam and I would be fending for ourselves.

Amelia handed Sam a copy of the key, giving him a wink when she told him she was just downstairs if he needed anything. She was a very visual thinker and I laughed when I realized she was having the same fantasy that I once had. I would really have to work double time to keep her thoughts at bay. Before she made it to the door, I asked her where the nearest grocery store was. She gave me a quick run down, also giving me the number for a few delivery places in the area.

Once she left, Pam and Eric did a thorough sweep of the apartment, presumably looking for listening devices or any other treats the Queen might have left behind. Everyone was just a little paranoid. Once they were satisfied that we were safe, we all sat down around the dining room table. We threw some ideas back and forth about a new plan, but without knowing everything the Queen had up her sleeve, we were shooting blind into the night.

Pam noticed the time and announced they had to leave to meet up with the Queen. I asked how to get to the compound by foot, since we'd be meeting them there the next night but she assured me that she would send the rented driver to deliver us. That just left us stranded during the day. It was probably for the best since we didn't know what was out there to get us.

Eric pulled me in for a hug, holding me tight and murmuring sweet little nothings in my ear, some in English, some not. He caressed my face before placing the sweetest of kisses to my forehead, the tip of my nose and finally my waiting lips. We lingered just for a moment before he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine.

He whispered, "Min älskare," before placing another kiss to my lips and taking his leave. I turned to Sam, my confusion playing out across my face.

"Do you know what that means?"

"Sookie, I'm from Texas. Does it look like I speak Viking? How does he even remember a foreign language?"

"He remembers English, why shouldn't he remember his first language?"

"Good point, I didn't think about that."

We sat in awkward silence for a minute before an abnormally loud yawn worked its way from my toes and out my mouth. Sam laughed.

"Why don't we order a pizza and call it an early night? We're both pretty drained after that drive."

I nodded in the affirmative and while he did the ordering, I checked out the bedrooms. There were two, thankfully, and I claimed the one with the bigger bed. If he contested my decision, I would chalk it up to first dibs. I didn't bother unpacking, since we were only there for the weekend. I didn't want my things getting mixed up with Hadley's anyway. Last thing I needed was to take home some of her trashy clothes.

I sniffed the sheets to see if they were clean and heard a laugh come from the doorway. Uh-oh, busted.

"Well, Sookie, I didn't know you were part shifter. You trying to track Hadley now?"

I blushed at being caught before defending my actions to him. I guess embarrassing myself was a good way to break the awkwardness that was brewing between us. He tossed his bag on the smaller bed in the room down the hall from mine and we made our way back to the living room. Hadley's couch was pretty comfortable and we were happy to learn her cable wasn't turned off. We found something stupid to watch while we waited for our pizza and tuned out the rest of the world. When our dinner finally showed up, we devoured it. We both settled back onto the couch, blaming our respective food comas and exhaustion for mindlessly staring at the television.

After three consecutive episodes of Food Network Challenge, Sam finally found the willpower to get off the couch. He took my hands and pulled me up, pushing me towards the back of the apartment to go to bed. We said our good nights and I closed my bedroom door. I changed into pajamas quickly, before falling back into bed. I grabbed my phone to check the time, startled to see I missed a call. Eric had called and I was sad that I missed it. He didn't leave a voicemail, so I called him back. He answered on the first ring, which surprised me.

"My Lover, I thought you had already gone to sleep."

"Nope, just crashed on the couch with Sam watching T.V. How are things at the palace?"

"Awful. Sophie-Anne is obnoxious and Andre is following us around like a shadow. I don't think I'm going to make it through the weekend."

"Well, we only have one more night here then we get to go home." I yawned audibly again, and this time it was Eric laughing at me. I guess I make funny noises when I yawn. "I'm going to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow night, first thing. I love you."

"And I love you, my Sookie. Sweet dreams."

I closed my phone and placed it on the night stand. I wrapped Hadley's pillow in a shirt I stole from Eric to simulate snuggling with him. I placed my head down on it, breathing in deeply, letting his distinct scent lull me to sleep. I'd deal with tomorrow when the sun came up.

**A/N2: Hope you liked the chapter! I love the character of Amelia and really wanted to work her in the story. That is not the only reason I sent them to New Orleans, but definitely a deciding factor. Send me a little review love and let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Time for a hint of self pimpage. I posted my Danger is a Dame one shot, A Very Dangerous Valentine's Day over the weekend. If you're a fan of the story, it's a must read. It takes place on their very first Valentine's Day as a couple, mid-story (technically between chapters 16 and 17). Take a second to read it, won't you? Thank you to everyone who already has! **

**http: // www . fanfiction . net /s /5722909 /1/**

**As always, thanks to chisaii-kitty for her mad beta skills, yo.**

**Shall we rejoin our friends on their adventures in New Orleans? Have at it!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

I was having the perfect dream. Eric and I were sharing a bath, and the heat of the water was warming his skin. I could feel his warm hands running all over me, settling on my back for a massage. I noticed his hands were getting warmer and warmer until I noticed his hands were actually on fire. It scared me enough to cause me to jump out of bed, punching Sam, who was just trying to wake me up, in the face. That would explain the hot hands in my dream, shifters tend to run a little hotter than the rest of us. Way hotter than vampires.

I knelt down on the floor, checking over his face. I got him right in the jaw, luckily it wasn't very hard. I helped him up finally asking him what he was doing in my room this early in the morning.

"Sookie, it's not as early as you think it is, it's nearly eleven. Amelia came by with beignets and coffee. She said she'll show us around a little bit, give us something to do to keep us out of trouble. Please come out into the living room, she's a little handsy."

The minute he said coffee and deep friend goodness, I was out the door ready to stuff my face. This woman was bound to be my new best friend.

"Morning sleepyhead. Sam and I have been up for a while, waiting for you to join us. He said he heard you moaning in there and needed to check on you. Isn't he sweet? Were you just flicking the bic?"

It took me a moment to figure out what she was talking about, so I took the time to stuff a beignet in my mouth and wash it down with amazing chicory coffee. I was starting to love New Orleans. I went for my next sip of coffee when it dawned on me.

"Ew! You barely know me, you can't ask me if I was doing that!"

She burst into laughter, and looked to Sam for a little support. He was barely holding in his own giggles. Jerks. I took another beignet and ate away my feelings.

"Sam mentioned you wanted to take us around town. I appreciate the offer but Eric doesn't want me to leave the apartment. He's not the Queen's favorite person right now and is worried about her influence on the locals."

"She's got a small division of the local pack on her side, but they don't attack unless she tells them to."

"Yeah, I'm pretty high on the shit list myself, so I'm going to stay off the radar."

"Guess again, you're coming out with us and we're going to wander around New Orleans. I know! We can go to my mentor's magic store and cast a spell of protection around you. That way, no one will want to cause you any physical harm."

"Wait, you're a real witch? I thought Sophie was just being condescending last night."

"Nope, I practice magic. I'm still learning, but I'm already pretty good. Octavia will be able to cast a far better spell than I could."

I looked to Sam for his input, but he just shrugged. I took that as he was up for anything Amelia had planned. It would be nice to make a new friend, she is a lot of fun. More importantly, she's human, which would be a nice quality to have in a friend right now. I finished the rest of my coffee and we decided what we wanted to do during the day. Amelia went back downstairs so Sam and I could finish getting ready. I mostly wanted her gone so we could talk more about what Amelia had revealed. The minute she was out the door, Sam locked it behind her.

"Sook, we need to get ready as fast as possible and spend the rest of the day out of the apartment."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sophie has a pack of weres at her disposal and she put us up here."

"Which means she knows we're here without any knowledge of the city. We're sitting ducks. Can we trust Amelia?"

"Did you see the interaction between her and the Queen last night? I don't think we have anything to worry about. She hates vamps. Check her brain, you'll find out fast if she's faking it."

"Oh right! I'm so used to shifters and vampires that I forgot I can get everything I need from the source. By the way, she's a loud broadcaster and very fond of you."

"Thanks for confirming that Sookie. Her hand on my ass earlier this morning was a clear sign. Now go get dressed so we can leave."

I decided to forgo a shower to make my morning routine faster. I threw on some clothes and performed the necessities in the bathroom. We were out the door in ten minutes, I was quite impressed with myself. I guess a possible were attack would get anybody rushing.

Amelia took us on a walking tour of the magic stores she frequents before bringing us to Octavia's store. There was an older woman behind the counter, flipping through the largest book I've ever seen. She looked up when she heard us enter the store.

"Amelia, good to see you today. These must be your new friends that you mentioned on the phone."

"Morning, Octavia. This is Sookie and Sam, he's a shifter! Not just a lame ass were, but a real shifter who can take any form!"

"Very impressive, it's nice to meet you both. Amelia mentioned you needed a protective spell? It's never a wise idea to make enemies in the Supe world."

Sam gave a half snort, half laugh at her statement. That earned him a dirty look from me. "The Queen's just a little ticked off at my boyfriend, that's all. He's a sheriff, well, former sheriff. He lost his memories recently and she named his child as his replacement."

She looked at me over her reading glasses, surprise in her eyes. "So it is true that Eric Northman lost his mind. And you say you're his girlfriend? I've heard plenty of rumors from up north about his womanizing ways."

She was quickly securing herself a place on my bad side. She better be able to help us, otherwise I'd be unleashing my inner bitch. "He has a very different side of his personality, you can't believe everything you hear. Say, you wouldn't be able to reverse a spell, could you?"

"I thought you needed me to cast a spell over you."

"Yeah, but Eric lost his memories because of a curse some were-witch hybrid put on him. But she was killed before she had a chance to reverse it."

"It's very dangerous to reverse someone else's spell, especially if no one else knows the original cast. It can have very dangerous outcomes if even the slightest wording is off. Even after practicing magic as long as I have, I wouldn't feel comfortable touching someone else's work. And I know the were-witch you're talking about. Her spells are particularly complicated for just that reason. Stay away from the Stonebrooks."

"They're both dead, as is much of their coven. They pissed off the wrong vampires, weres, and witches. After the dust settled, they found her spell book, but it's written in some code no one can break."

"I know. I've seen the book. One of the Queen's followers brought it to the shop asking if I could read the spell. Many witches that practice magic that is generally frowned upon encrypt their spell books. Hallow's was very intricate, I've never seen anything like it before. She meant for that curse to never be reversed."

"Good to know Andre's shopping the book around."

"I know many of those who do magic in the area. Most don't like to deal with vampires. I wish I could offer you more advice on the matter, but I can't"

"That's fine, you gave me more than I had. So about that protective spell, when are we going to do that? I wouldn't mind a little extra help."

She smiled at me, flipping through the massive book, until she apparently found what she was looking for. She sent Amelia around the shop to gather supplies, reading her off a list that sounded like it was straight out of Macbeth. I had never heard half the ingredients coming out of her mouth before.

Octavia walked to the front of the shop, putting up a "Back in 10 Minutes" sign and locking the front door. She led us to a small back room and began lighting candles. Amelia joined us a minute later and began setting up everything from Octavia's list.

"Now, I need to stress that this is a temporary spell. If I cast anything stronger on you, people would begin to avoid you like the plague and I can only assume you like having friends."

"Yeah, it's something I'm working on. I need to find more friends that I can rely on. More friends like Sam here." I tossed him a smile which he reciprocated. "It will last all weekend, right? That's all I need it for."

"Oh yes, you'll feel it wearing off after a few weeks."

"You mean I'll be able to feel the magic? Is it like a suit of armor?"

"No, just a strong energy around you. Humans won't be able to detect it, but will still feel the effects. Let's get started."

She lit the rest of the candles as well as several piles of incense. She placed some of the other ingredients into a tea kettle and set it to boil. I wanted to tell her I took my tea sweet, but kept my snark to myself. I didn't want to piss off the person who was casting a spell on me.

A few minutes later, she instructed me to sit on the only chair in the room and handed me a tea cup full of her special recipe. I took a sniff of it and it did not smell all that appealing. She and I were holding the cup, and she began to chant in a language I assumed was Latin. I felt a new pair of hands on my shoulders and could hear Amelia joining in, responding to what Octavia was saying.

The air in the room seemed to grow heavy and a strange odor started to fill my nose. I looked over a Sam, and he was looking a little anxious. I guess as a Supe, he could pick up on the new energy that was swirling around. I looked back at the tea cup, and the once dark liquid was now clear as broth. She stop speaking, closing her eyes briefly.

"Drink it now, all of it."

I put the cup to my lips, noticing she was still holding it. As the first sip hit my tongue, I wanted to spit it out. It was the most vile thing I've ever had in my mouth. I decided to use the band-aid approach; do it fast and get it over with. I drank it as fast as the hot liquid would allow, swallowing the last bit with a grimace.

She took her hands off the cup, placing them on top of Amelia's and started to whisper, still in Latin. When she finished, she opened her eyes, giving my shoulders a firm squeeze before she and Amelia let go.

"So how do you feel?"

I took a moment to take it all in. I closed my eyes, trying to figure out what felt different. I reached out with my mind and could still feel the hum of Eric's unconscious mind, Sam's snarl of red shifter thoughts, Amelia freaking out that something went wrong, but strangely nothing from Octavia.

"I don't feel different at all." As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a surge of energy wrapping around me, urging me out of the chair. I jumped up and turned around to see Amelia holding a knife that was currently pointed at me. I knew I couldn't trust her.

When she and Octavia began smiling, I realized the spell worked. When everything was okay, I wouldn't feel anything. When danger presented, in this case fake danger but I suppose the spell couldn't tell the difference, the energy kicked into action to keep me safe. Sam crossed the room to stand next to me, sniffing the air.

"I can smell the magic on you. So will any other Supe. You might have some explaining to do at the party tonight."

"I'd rather explain my day than have someone planning my funeral."

Amelia and Octavia began to clean up the room, and we all headed back into the shop. I felt awkward; I didn't know whether I had to pay for the services she provided or if it would be impolite to ask.

"So, do I owe you anything? I don't know how much casting a spell normally costs."

"Let's just say the first one is on the house. Consider it a favor, perhaps someday you'll be able to repay me in kind."

"I'll remember that. Should you ever need anything from a waitress from Bon Temps, just ask."

We left the shop and Amelia continued our tour of New Orleans, taking us to all the historic sights. We stopped at a small cafe for lunch, tearing into a po-boy sandwich with some red beans and rice. I didn't know if the Queen's party would be serving human food so I decided I would fill up on a big lunch just in case. If I had to suffer with her all night, I'd do it on a full stomach.

When I told Amelia I didn't have anything fancy to wear to the party, she declared that we needed to go shopping. Sam wasn't so thrilled with this idea, yet tagged along anyway. He didn't really have a choice, he wasn't here on vacation, he was here as my bodyguard. Even with the spell of protection, I still wanted him around.

We went to a few boutiques, but everything was way out of my price range. After nearly an hour of wandering around to different stores, Sam looked as if he was about to pass out. I asked Amelia if she had anything in her closet I could borrow and she instantly perked up. It looked like I wasn't the only one excited to have made a new friend.

We went back to the house, Sam going upstairs while I followed Amelia into her half of the residence. I knew even though there was a floor between us, he'd still be able to hear if anything went wrong. As soon as we walked through her front door, I had a funny feeling and all the hair on the back of my neck went up. I was on high alert, and had the sense to shout out to Sam to come quick. He ran back downstairs, with both of our duffel bags in his hands.

"Our front door was unlocked and open, plus the entire apartment smells like were. They were definitely here, and not too long ago. We're leaving now, we'll find the Queen's compound ourselves."

Amelia ran into her bedroom, coming out with a few different dresses and heels. "These might work on your body type, it's the best I can do on short notice. I'm heading back to Octavia's, it'll be safer there. We'll put a spell over the property later. You can keep those for now, or bring them back in the morning, it doesn't matter to me. Don't be a stranger! Here's my e-mail address and phone number, keep in touch."

She pulled me in for a hug, giving me a piece of paper with her information on it. I wrote mine down on the bottom, tearing it off to give back to her. She didn't know how to get to the Queen's building, but she gave me the phone number of a company that does tours of all the spooky places in the city. She said the Queen's headquarters is the number one requested stop on the tour.

Sam and I began to walk in the direction the van drove away last night. I called the Spook-line and lied, saying I was completely lost in the city trying to find the building before dark. They gladly gave the address to a scared out of towner, and we finally had a destination. Sam kept on alert, constantly sniffing the air for traces of the weres that stopped by the apartment.

We finally reached the block of buildings that comprised the Queen's headquarters. Humans didn't know how much power she held, just that she was a rich vampire that pumped a lot of money into the local economy. There were vendors all over the place, selling everything vampire themed. Not one Twilight reference was made, this was an Anne Rice type of town. We saw plenty of other tour groups walking around, taking pictures of the building as well as the five burly guards posted outside. Sam took a sniff and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Weres, all of them. They must take the day shift, when vampire guards can't do much of anything. Mention Eric's name, they'll probably let you in."

"What about you? The Queen said she didn't want you here. Sam, I'm not going in there without you."

"Okay, change of plans. Now that we know where it is, we'll grab a room at a hotel close by and wait out the sunset. It should be going down in an hour or so. As soon as it sets, we'll call Eric and let him know what's going on. He'll come and escort you back here. I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to you and I won't. You have nothing to worry about, chere."

"For someone who hates weres so much, she sure has a bunch of them on payroll."

"I think the way she treated us had more to do with keeping Pam and Eric on edge. Weres make good bodyguards, most will do anything for a paycheck. Stop lumping me in with them, shifters are far more civilized than weres."

He was getting playful, trying to ease my nerves. I was something I definitely appreciated. We walked to the nearest hotel, which was only one block over. It had a Gothic theme, definitely capitalizing on the vampires in the area. We quickly reserved a room, asking if there was anyway we could have one that had a view of the compound. There was, and we quickly made our way to the tenth floor, where our room was situated. We settled in and I decided it was time to get ready for the party. I finally got to take my shower today, loving the water pressure of the hotel. It was powerful, and felt just like a massage.

Once I dried myself off, I tried on the dresses inside the massive bathroom. Most of them were too small; Amelia wore a six, while I was generally an eight or ten. I finally found one that flattered all my curves. I wasn't thrilled with how much neck or cleavage I was showing, but I knew Eric would appreciate it.

I fixed my hair, blow drying it straight to leave it down. In a room full of vampires, I did not want my neck accentuated. I wasn't wearing any jewelry, except for the small gold hoops I had been wearing since yesterday. I thought I looked presentable enough.

I walked out of the bathroom, where I did a little twirl for Sam. He gave me the once over, and I could tell he liked what he saw. He let me know he called Eric's phone, and left him a voicemail for when the sun set. I tried on a pair of Amelia's shoes, and by some miracle they fit comfortably. The heel was a little higher than I was used to wearing, but if I needed a little support, I knew I could lean on Eric. I practiced walking around the room to get a feel for the shoes when there was a knock at the door. I reached out with my mind and felt that familiar blanket of calm wrapping tightly around me. I hadn't even noticed the sun had gone down while I was in the bathroom.

Eric had enough waiting at the door, all ten seconds of it. He shouted to be allowed in, alerting us that he wasn't above breaking the door down. Sam cross the room, opening the door for my towering Viking. He looked amazing in an all black ensemble, black suit, shirt, tie, and shoes. The metallic gold fabric of my dress would really pop when we were standing next to each other.

He came through the door as soon as the invitation left Sam's mouth, wrapping me up in a hug. Apparently my spell didn't like that because I could feel it flaring up around me. I was pulled out of his arms by some supernatural force, which left him very stunned.

"Lover, what have you done? You reek of magic, magic that won't let me touch you."

I filled him in on the details of our day. He wasn't happy that we left the apartment, until Sam mentioned the were break-in. Now that we were all on the same page, it was time to leave for the party. Eric mentioned that I was going to be briefed on my role by Andre and we needed to head back now. He gave me a small, laminated card that had my name and what I guessed to be the Queen's seal and signature. Eric informed me that it would let me pass through security.

Sam gave me the spare room key for when I would be returning in the morning. Eric and I set out down the block slowly, since I was still teetering in my shoes. He wrapped an arm around my waist and that helped me keep my balance. When we got to the front door, I noticed that Sam was right and the daytime were guards were replaced by a nighttime vampire crew. One signaled to Eric and we walked over to him.

"Sheriff Northman, welcome back. Ms. Stackhouse, welcome to the Queen's compound. My name is Rasul and I will be keeping an eye on you tonight. No harm will come to you under my watch."

I noticed he called Eric by his former title. His wink at me confirmed that he was on our side and my guard was picked poorly by the Queen. Maybe she just didn't fill him in on the covert plan to kidnap me for her own evil purposes. He led us through the crowd of people milling about the lobby, past all the security check points with the flash of his badge.

We were brought to a small sitting area where Andre was waiting for us. Rasul went to the back of the room, standing guard a respectful distance from us. Andre came over to me and greeted me with a kiss to each cheek. Considering how much vampires don't like touching humans, I knew he was doing it to get a rise out of Eric. If the growl emanating from behind me was any indication, it worked.

"Now now, Viking, remember what the Queen said would happen if you misbehaved. The human would be sent home dead and you would never see another night."

Eric slumped his shoulders in defeat but never lost the fire in his eyes. He was biding his time until he could take action. I couldn't wait to see the day this creep Andre meets the pointy end of a stake. I hoped I could be there for it.

"Miss Stackhouse, Sophie-Anne has a pending nuptial with the king of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill. This is a little get together between the two camps and Her Majesty would like you to read the minds of the human staff in attendance. She wants to know that they will be loyal to her after the wedding takes place."

"And if I won't agree to do it?"

"I'll see to turning you myself. Perhaps I'll just drain you most of the way and let you die a painful death."

"Fine, but how will I know who I should be listening to?"

"His staff have distinct uniforms from Louisiana's. You should listen to our staff as well to determine if there are any traitors under our roof. This wedding needs to go smoothly."

"Fine. Oh, be a dear and thank the Queen for me for sending those weres to Hadley's apartment. I hope she wasn't too disappointed we weren't there."

He left the room in a huff, demanding that Eric and I go to the ballroom immediately. I looked to Eric and he wrapped me in a tentative hug. I focused hard on the love we share, and the magic seemed to understand I needed to be in his arms.

"I guess it's now or never. Let's go party."

**A/N2: So, um, no offense to you Twi-fans for that little dig; I'm a Rice fanatic myself. Hope you won't hold it against me.**

**Did I make enough veiled references to the future books in this chapter? I don't think so! **

**Hit that little green button and let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is a super quick update for me, but I had the chapter ready, and a snow day today (and likely tomorrow). **

**According to my fab beta, chisaii-kitty, this chapter is the bomb. She even deleted her snarky comments in her e-mail because she was so blown away. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

We made our way through the winding corridors that made up the compound until we came to a grand set of doors. We crossed the threshold into the ballroom where light music was already playing. Eric's arm was wrapped tightly around me; telling everyone in the room I was his as well as keeping me upright.

We found Pam sitting at a table speaking to another vampire with a human girlfriend. I listened in on her mind, and could hear she was completely bored. She just wanted to go back to their room and... okay, time to change the channel, enough listening to her. I also noticed how her memories resembled Swiss cheese. There were huge gaps from where her beau must have glamored her.

Eric held out a chair for me and I smiled at his gentlemanly move. Once Pam and the other vampire stopped talking, she directed his attention to us.

"Gervaise, you of course know Eric. Eric this is Gervaise, Sheriff of Area Four. Sookie, this is his girlfriend, Carla. Perhaps you ladies could be friends."

Carla snorted in disgust. I heard her thinking about how plain Jane I was, how I wasn't a proper girlfriend for a former sheriff.

"Oh, Pam, I have plenty of friends. Besides, I'm working tonight. I get to eavesdrop on the staff." I was hoping Pam picked up on the fact I didn't want her sharing my gift with the table.

I suggested to Eric that we start circulating around the room. We started walking, and for the first time in a while, I dropped my shields completely. There weren't many humans in the room so I wasn't bombarded too badly. I finally caught a glimpse of Sophie-Anne and her hubby to be, Peter Threadgill. Beside her was Hadley, who was dressed like a total slut. Andre was lurking in the shadows, looking like a total creeper. His eyes locked on to mine, and I could tell he was trying to glamor me. I just ignored him; flipping the bird, I mean, itching my nose.

There was another vampire stalking along the wall except she had her eyes on Threadgill. I guess she was the female equivalent of Andre, favorite child and sworn bodyguard. The two swords strapped to her back let me know she was not messing around.

We finally found a table full of human employees. Some wore small pins in the shape of Arkansas on their lapel, so figured out real fast who worked for which state. Eric and I struck up an easy conversation with them, Eric carrying most of the verbal portion while I listened in to their thoughts. All of them were several drinks into the evening and easy reads. No one was thinking about overthrowing the government or killing a monarch.

The general vibe I was getting from people was excitement. Some were not happy about leaving their home, or moving to a new state, but they were few and far between. I made notes about what they looked like so I could report to the Queen later. I was going to suggest letting those that were most upset stay in their home state to avoid problems down the road.

The entire time, I felt like I was on high alert. The magic wrapped around me and I'd hold Eric's hand a little tighter, look at those around me a little closer. No one dared come near me. I didn't know if it was the magic or the murderous look in Eric's eyes. Everyone knew him as a fair Sheriff that was fully capable of kicking ass when need be. Even without his title, no one wanted to mess with him or his lady.

I wanted to go back out into the lobby to listen in on those humans too, but Eric noticed that a buffet of human food had just opened up. We headed that way instead, and I piled the food on my plate. Despite my big lunch, I was still hungry and everything looked amazing. We sat back with Pam, Gervaise and Carla, who were now joined by a handful of other vampires. Pam gave a few introductions, but I wasn't really paying attention.

I really wanted to shovel the food into my mouth, but remembered I was in the presence of royalty. A server brought around a tray of goblets, filled with what looked to be blood. Eric took a glass and drank it down quickly; he hadn't fed in a few nights, we really didn't have the time. Pam made a happy noise, commenting on her surprise that the Queen sprang for the real Royalty, not the "blended crap".

Over the next few hours, I checked out every human brain I could find. I wandered in and out of the ballroom, going through the main lobby to listen for disgruntled employees. I was happy to report to the Queen there was nothing major to worry about. I'm sure she would press me about vampires, but there wasn't much I could do to help her there. She'd just have to suck it up. I did what I could with the weres in attendance. Most of the brain signatures were on alert for danger; they must be part of the guard staff.

When we got back to the table, I got hit with a wave of anger and hate. I tried to find the brain it came from and finally located its source. There was a were who was staring daggers at the Queen, a snarl planted on his face. I signaled for Rasul, who was quickly at my side. I let him know to tell Andre about what I'd found. He was off in a flash, and when I looked back to the Queen, Andre and the other guard vamp were at the side of the royal couple.

The were didn't realize how easily they could kill him since the idiot charged the dais, shouting something about her abuse of his pack. The entire party stopped for a moment, watching the poor pup get sliced in half by a sword that was once strapped to Threadgill's girl's back. She was standing over the two halves of the now dead body, bowing before the king and queen.

"I kill to show my loyalty to you, my Master's future Queen."

Sophie-Anne ate that line up, very happy with the little girl's performance. She wasn't impressed by my Southern manners, but absolutely loved the fact this chick sliced a were in half for her. Weirdo.

Rasul was back at my side, an amused look on his face. "Nice catch, Sookie. You've earned your keep tonight. I made sure Andre knew you were the one to notice his discontent."

With that, he was back to the shadows. Once the body was cleaned up, the party was back in full swing. People were dancing, drinking, and laughing as if someone wasn't sliced in two not ten minutes prior. I needed to get out of there, every fiber of my being was telling me so. I was completely disgusted with this society and needed a moment to compose myself. I indicated this to Eric who was glad to escort me back to the room he was sharing with Pam.

I laid down, reaching my arms out to him to tell him I needed to be held. He joined me on the bed, laying down behind me to spoon. He ran his hand up and down my side, finally coming to the plunging neckline of the dress. He let his fingers dance between the textured fabric and my smooth skin, and my body instantly relaxed. He brushed the hair away from my neck, running kisses whenever he revealed another patch of skin.

I knew where this was leading. I also know of Eric's propensity for ripping my clothes off, so I sat up to seductively pull the dress off, tossing it to safety. Eric and I were making out, hot and heavy, when I felt something pulling me back. This magic picked the most awful times to protect me.

I sat up, huffing my disappointment. Stupid Octavia and her stupid curse not letting me have sex with my super hot boyfriend. I was ready to fight against it when the door just opened and Pam walked in. How was Pam intruding on our private time dangerous? Octavia wasn't very specific when she cast the spell.

"Sookie, I never knew you had such a smoking hot body underneath that obnoxious exterior. The two of you need to come back to the party, the Queen's preparing to make her speech and wants you both there for it. You don't need to bother putting your dress back on, dear, you look much better like this."

I rolled my eyes at her before crossing the room to get dressed. I checked myself in the mirror before storming past her, opting not to acknowledge her pinching my ass. Now I knew how Sam felt around Amelia. I walked back to the ballroom with my vampire entourage, stopping at the bar for a gin and tonic before taking a seat.

Sophie-Anne picked up a microphone and started to ramble on about how perfect aligning Arkansas and Louisiana would be, blah blah blah. By the time she had finished her speech, I was on my fourth gin and tonic after having instructed the waiter to keep them coming. I was feeling particularly fabulous and stopped listening to her.

Drunk Sookie is also horny Sookie, as my hand found its way to Eric's crotch. He, of course, wasn't going to stop me, he just pulled me closer with a big smile on his face. I started to nibble along his neck and his earlobe. I heard him growl deep in his chest and he ran his hand down my spine, sending shivers all over me. I was just about to climb into his lap and shove my tongue down his throat when Andre took the microphone.

He went on and on about how it was an honor to join the two kingdoms. He mentioned something about Jade Flowers and their wonderful performance earlier. I must have missed their dance when Eric and I were going at it in the bedroom. Then he said he wanted to read a poem written long ago. Booooring! I wanted to go back to bed with Eric. I could feel his hardness against my hand and knew he felt the same way. Andre started talking in a foreign language, and I started to pick up on some of the words. They sounded so oddly familiar, as if I had just heard them earlier today. Oh wait, I did, he was speaking Latin. When he was finished he looked at me with a smug look on his face, folded up the paper the poem was written on, and went to stand behind the Queen once again.

I was called out of bed for this? I downed my fifth G&T and announced to the table that Eric and I were going to hump like bunnies. I may have mentioned something about how well endowed Eric was, since Carla looked him up and down with new interest. I walked over to her, nearly tripping in my heels and got in her face.

"Hey Bitch! I am sick and tired of everyone walking all over me, taking whatever they want. That is my vampire, my bonded, and you can't have him. I love him and he loves me and we're going to live happily ever after, so fuck off!"

Alcohol really loosens my tongue, it seems. Pam was hysterically laughing, blood tears falling down her face from her exertion. Gervaise looked like he wanted to drain me and thankfully Eric was of his right mind, dragging me away from the party.

"She's such a bitch. I read her thoughts and she wanted to fuck you! She needs to learn that's my job! She's such a slut, I bet she's never told anyone no before. You wouldn't fuck her or drink from her, would you?"

We were back in Eric's room and he sat down on the bed, holding my hips. His lips looked so kissable, I wanted to just eat him up.

"Sookie, Lover, you know I would never touch another. Now I believe you've had too much to drink. You should lay down and rest."

"I don't want to rest, I want to mess around. Don't you want me?"

"Every moment of every night, but not when you're in this mindset. I won't take advantage of you."

"Oh, I'm more than willing." I pulled my dress up over my head, falling over, landing flat on my ass, tangled up in my clothes. Eric scooped me up quickly, placing me on the bed, kissing the bruise that was currently forming on my rear.

"Lover, please, just rest. We'll make love once your head clears a bit."

"Hey, hey Eric? What did you say the other night? You said something in a silly language that I don't know."

"Min älskare?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"It means 'my lover' in my native tongue."

"How do you say 'I love you' in Viking?"

"It's Swedish, not Viking."

"Whatever, teach me."

"Jag älskar dig."

I tried it a few times, with his gentle coaching. I watched his lips and tongue as he spoke, but that just turned me on. After ten failed attempts, I just gave up.

"That's too hard. I'll stick to English."

"It's the meaning behind the words that counts, dear one."

I continued to drunkenly ramble for a little while until the buzz wore off and I got tired. I curled up along his side, resting my head against his chest.

"I'm just going to close my eyes for a minute."

Next thing I remember was the splitting headache rocking my brain. I groaned, curling myself into a little ball to block everything out. I hadn't had a hangover in a very long time; I forgot how bad they sucked. My groaning must have roused Eric from his downtime.

"Lover, are you in pain?"

"Hungover. I drank too much."

He bit his wrist, holding the bleeding cut out to me. I latched on, taking a few draws of his sweet, ancient blood. I placed a kiss on the healing wound and as soon as my head hit the pillow, it felt instantly better. The good feeling quickly spread through my body, making me feel way better than before.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly six. Sunrise is within the hour. I should walk you back to your hotel."

I stretched and went to get out of bed to find my dress. I was stopped with a pair of hands wrapping around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.

"I didn't mean right away."

* * *

We made our way down the block, pumps in my hand. The street was clean enough; I didn't really mind being barefoot. Eric dropped me off at the front door of my hotel room. He kissed me lightly but repeatedly, letting his kisses build momentum until we were making out like teenagers yet again. He pulled himself away, a certain amount of sadness in his eyes.

"I need to leave now to get back to the compound before the sun rises. I can't wait until I rise tomorrow night back at your home in Bon Temps. I'll be so glad to put all this behind us. I love you, Sookie."

"I love you too, Eric. I'll be counting down the minutes until sunset."

He walked away at human speed so I could watch. I loved when he made little gestures like that. I slid the card through the reader, hearing the electronic lock release. I made my way into the room quietly, to not wake Sam. I could hear his snores, which let me know I succeeded. Too bad the heavy door slammed shut behind me. He jumped out of bed, ready to shift or attack the intruder when he realized it was only me. He ran a hair through his extra messy hair, clutching his chest.

"Jesus Christ, Sook, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry! I didn't realize the door would close on its own."

He sat down on the bed, bringing the sheets around his waist to cover his boxer shorts. I never knew Sam to be shy, he's a shifter for crying out loud! He must be acting polite for my sake.

"How was the party? I guess it was fun if you're just getting home now."

"Nothing spectacular. A few people not too thrilled to be moving. Pam said I would be reporting to one of the human staff in the morning. He'll be meeting us here for breakfast downstairs at about nine. Then we get to go home. I think she said the van would be here around ten."

"Sounds good to me. The sooner the better."

I dug in my bag for clean clothes, sneaking away to the bathroom to change. I ran a brush through my hair, trying to tame the snarls. I made my way back to the main room, noticing Sam had turned on the local news. I sat down on the other bed, watching passively. I felt the same way Sam did, I just wanted to go home.

"Amelia called me. She wanted to say that she and Octavia, with a few other locals cast a spell over the apartment building. I think she just didn't want us to worry about her."

"I'd feel terrible if she got hurt because of us. I'm glad she's got her own form of a security system in place. We should stop by on our way out of town so I can drop off her clothes. I wouldn't feel right taking them."

"Sounds fine to me. I don't think she'll complain about having to see either one of us again."

Breakfast with the Queen's aide was uneventful. He just wanted to know what I heard, writing everything I said down in full detail. It was nice to be around people who believed in what I could do wholeheartedly. Growing up, I faced so many people who thought I was insane. It was a new experience to talk to people who took my gift seriously.

After we ate, we went back up to the room to pack. We checked out just as the Anubis van pulled up. Sam and I basically ran out of the hotel lobby to pile in. We made a quick detour to Amelia's and then were on the open road heading back to Bon Temps. We talked for a little while so I could give Sam a full report from the party. I left out the part about me getting blitzed and cursing out the Sheriff's girlfriend. I liked knowing Sam had some level of respect for me. We both started dozing off, and fell asleep minutes after each other.

The first stop in Bon Temps was Sam's trailer. He wanted to get back to the bar as soon as possible to relieve Terry of his post as acting manager. Sam reconfirmed the fact that he was the greatest boss ever; he gave me the rest of the day, as well as Monday, off. I needed some rest after all the insanity of the weekend.

The van went to my house next. The driver unloaded Eric's coffin, wheeling it into the house. I instructed him to leave it in the spare bedroom, so Eric wouldn't be completely out of sorts when he rose. I tried to give him a tip, but he insisted that Pam had covered everything. By the time they reached Shreveport to drop Pam off, it would be full dark and she would settle the bill.

I went about cleaning up the house until sunset. I decided to surprise Eric with some sexy lingerie. As soon as he rose, he was going to devour me, and I was looking forward to it. As the sky began to get dark, I heard a loud crash from the spare bedroom. I was just across the hall, lying on my bed in nothing but a red lace teddy so I didn't know how effective I would be at helping him.

I crossed my room, opening the door to the spare bedroom slowly. Eric was staring at everything, just like he did when we were in his houses. I said his name quietly, knowing I wouldn't have to shout to get his attention. It was the last thing out of my mouth before Eric had his hand wrapped around my throat, holding me a good foot off the ground pressed against the wall, growling menacingly.

"Sookie?" He slowly released me, letting me fall gently to the floor. "Is this your home? Why am I here? Why do I feel your emotions so acutely?"

Oh. Shit.

***ducks, hides* Review please, let me know what you think! Next chapter will be the first appearance of Eric's POV.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: OMG I'm so thankful you guys stuck with me on the whole 'Eric getting his memories back' jag. It was my intended direction for the story and I was more than a little scared about what you, dear reader, would say. Here in this chapter, we get to see Eric's side of things. It's my first venture into Eric POV and it picks up the night of the Queen's party.**

**Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty, for her words of encouragement and for putting up with my insane amount of chapters. We've had a massive snowfall here in NYC earlier in the week and as a result, I wrote three chapters since Wednesday. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

EPOV

After the debacle of last night, I was glad to have Sookie in my arms again. Had Pam not interrupted, it would have made my time under the Queen's scrutiny tolerable. I was developing a fondness of the adorable faces Sookie makes when she's ticked off; the pout of her lips just reminds me of all the amazing things that mouth can do.

We returned to our table in the ballroom, Sookie with drink in hand. At the speed she's drinking them down, she'll be incapacitated in no time. At least she has that option when dealing with the Queen; I have to be sober listening to her ramble on and on. When her hand snaked its way down my leg, I knew her usual inhibitions had been dropped. At least touching Sookie would make this evening bearable. Sophie-Anne's speech didn't even make sense in most places; this woman truly lives for the sound of her own voice. I thanked the gods when she finally stopped; the roar of the applause in her ears was praise but in mine it was the crowd elated she was finally quiet.

When Andre picked up the microphone, I could have killed him. First because Sookie had started kissing me and stopped when he started speaking. Second, I didn't need to sit through another round of his ass kissing. He needed to insure his spot as favorite child, a title Hadley was slowly stealing away. I wondered how long she would last. Sookie obviously still cared for her cousin; her grief would be the only negative of the poor girl's final death.

When he pulled out an ancient love poem, my eyes rolled back in my head out of boredom coupled with the fact that Sookie's hand had found my hardening length, stroking it through the material of my pants. I only heard a few of the words he read, in Latin nonetheless, something about your deepest heart's desires.

When the time for speeches had ended, Sookie determined it was time to go back to bed and I certainly wasn't going to stop her. In her drunken state, she openly announced to everyone where we were going and exactly what we intended to do once we got there. I laughed at her boldness, but the useless human escort of the other Sheriff started to stare at me a little too long, Sookie's true warrior spirit was unleashed. To spare her the draining Gervaise was moments from serving her, I grabbed her firmly around the waist, carrying her back to my room.

Once we were alone, her anger turned to anxiety which turned to desire. Even though I knew she craved me as deeply as I craved her, it wouldn't feel right to take her in this moment. I'd rather feel frustrated now then her feel regret later. I held her close, trying to get her to rest so the alcohol could process through her body, but she was determined to learn "Viking." She lulled herself to sleep with the sound of her own voice and I was left in my favorite moment.

I loved to watch her sleep; her face a mask of peace and calm, her eyes twitching rapidly as she dreamed. I missed dreaming; as a vampire, it's either conscious or not, there is no in between realm where secret wishes and desires come to life.

I took her time asleep to reflect on what had happened since we arrived yesterday. After many hours of tough negotiations with the Queen, Pam and I were finally able to convince her Sookie was unable to read vampire minds. She promised to spare her any harm as long as she agreed to read human minds as often as the Queen demanded. As her bonded, I would always go with her and be allowed to share a room with her, unlike this trip. The thought of her sharing that apartment with the shifter made my blood boil, but I trusted her like no other. I knew she would never do anything to hurt the love we shared.

I noticed a twinge of pain, and first thought it to be Sookie. I looked down at her sleeping form; she was still fast asleep with no sign of distress. The pain was my own, a headache unlike anything I'd felt in centuries. It radiated through my brain, starting at the core, moving outwards creating a sensation that my head would explode. As soon as it made its presence known, it was gone. I tried to determine the cause when I was rocked with another wave of pain and nausea, this time accompanied by a groan from Sookie.

I fed her my blood to ease the pain of her hangover, which worked immediately. I checked the clock, noticing we had a little over an hour before the sun would rise. Knowing she was feeling better and feeling my blood running through her veins was enough to awaken the animal in me. I pulled her to me as she tried to leave for her hotel, letting her feel how aroused I was. The moan that escaped her lips let me know it was what she wanted too. My Sookie had never denied me before, nor would she ever again.

I held her to my chest, ridding her of her unnecessary bra and panties, feeling her hot flesh against my skin. I would never tire of the way she felt against me. It reminded me of stepping into the water of a hot spring when I was alive.

Reminded me... I remembered something from when I was alive? This was strange but Pam did say that sensations could bring back memories. I would wait until we got back to Bon Temps to discuss this with Sookie. I didn't want word to get out that I had one glimpse of a memory; the Queen might make me stay to see if I had any more. I wouldn't let anything get in the way of going home.

I knew Pam would be coming back to the room shortly, since sunrise was so close so I couldn't take the time I wanted to fully pleasure Sookie. If I had my way, I would keep her coming until the sun's first rays broke the horizon, but I doubt she would appreciate an audience. I had my first taste of her blood in several nights as her orgasm ripped through her body, making it taste that much sweeter. We held each other briefly, until I heard other guests returning to their rooms, knowing Pam wouldn't be far behind.

I dropped her off at her room she shared with the shifter, kissing her passionately to remind her who she belonged to. I made my way back to the compound, leaving the room unlocked so the driver could move our coffins into the van easily whenever he arrived. I noticed Pam had already tucked herself in, and I did the same, lying down in my coffin, closing the lid tightly. I closed my eyes, ready for the dawn to take me into the darkness, but it never happened.

In my core, I could feel the sunrise, but my mind never shut off. Instead it was bombarded with images; a young boy learning to handle a sword from a man, a brave warrior stolen in the night by a bloodsucking demon, a young blonde giving herself willingly with the promises of eternal life; a dark witch swearing a hex on my business should I deny her. A millennia of images returned to their rightful owner; yet the three weeks that had been proven to be the happiest time were stripped away. My brain had been returned, swapped for the one that took its place during the curse.

I awoke with a start, tearing the lid off my coffin to get out. I rose quickly, trying to come to grips with my location. I looked around trying to figure out where I was. I last thing I remembered was being in my office at Fangtasia, and now I was in what appeared to be a little girl's room. My own clothes were thrown about the room, mixed with another man's work clothes. I could feel something strange running through my veins, the blood of another. This was unlike anything I'd ever felt before, the depth of emotion and sensation I felt belong entirely to another.

I heard the door open slowly, and had the intruder by the throat before they could even speak. I lifted the poor bastard to my eye level to realize it was Sookie Stackhouse. I sniffed the air, it smelled just like her. This must be her home. In my heart, I could feel fear and anxiety; two useless emotions I haven't bothered with in centuries. It must belong to Sookie, but how would I be so in tune with her?

She reeked of magic and I could feel energy around her pushing me away. I put her down; checking her neck for permanent damage, luckily there was none. How would I ever get the chance to get her to yield to me if she was dead? I immediately ran a string of questions off, her blank stare hiding something deeper. Pain, but how did I know that?

"You don't remember anything from the past few weeks?"

"Pam, Gerald and I were going to a meeting with the witches and now I'm here in your house. Is this your bedroom, it's very quaint."

"You've been staying the light tight hole in the closet for nearly three weeks."

"WHAT?" I roared at her, her flinch a clear indication of her fear. She eased out of the room but I followed her, demanding answers. She started a fire, completely ignoring the ranting vampire at her back. This woman was going to get herself killed if she kept underestimating my kind.

Once she had it at full blaze she turned to me, a solemn look to her face. "You like to talk in front of the fire. You said it helps you think."

How did she know that? Why would I reveal something so personal to this human? She opened a hideous quilt on the floor, sitting down and indicating she would like me to do the same. I did, pressing myself close to her to try and make her uncomfortable; call me cruel but I love to make her squirm. She surprised me by curling up at my side, pressing herself against me. I had a snide comment to make, but decided against it. I almost liked this side of her.

"Hallow placed a curse on you that erased all your memories. You ended up running down Hummingbird Lane and I found you. I took you home, cleaned you up and kept you safe. Pam thought it would be best to keep you out of Shreveport since Hallow and her coven were looking for you."

"I've been here with you for three weeks? What did we do?" I gave her a suggestive look, but she simply sighed, and looked down at the quilt. She was killing me.

"We did a lot, but I'll start at the beginning. After Hallow was killed, no one knew how to reverse the spell so we called the Queen. She did what she felt was best for her kingdom and stripped you of your title, naming Pam as Sheriff."

I was up, pacing the floor before she was even finished speaking. "I'm no longer Sheriff?"

"Sophie-Anne said it was up to Pam if she wanted to give you your job back after you regained your memories. We didn't know if it would ever happen."

"I need to settle this with Pam. We're not done speaking, my little telepath. You have much more to tell me, but I must handle what's most important first."

"And what's that?"

"Me and my title of course. Living in this shithole is worthless without being Sheriff. You'll be hearing from me soon enough."

I was out the door before she could blink, taking to the skies to fly back to Shreveport to have a much needed conversation with my child. I landed at Fangtasia not much later, walking through the back door with a purpose. I could hear Pam in my office, calling it her office. It took all my years to tamp down the bloodlust. Knowing her like I did, it was not her idea to steal my role, but she could have fought the Queen for my honor. I pushed the door open, leaning against the door's frame with a smile on my face. She looked up at me, hanging up the phone.

"Master, is Sookie here with you?"

"Why would she be? I hear congratulations are in order, Pamela. Or should I say Sheriff Ravenscroft?"

She shuddered at my use of her full name; she knew she was in trouble. "I've regained my memories, you're no longer Sheriff. Get out of my chair."

"Of course, Master. We'll call the Queen and make it official."

"Get her on the phone now. Did anything important happen while I was away?"

"Besides confirming that Compton was in town as a secret agent of the Queen to kidnap Sookie? Or perhaps how the two of you formed a blood bond last week?"

I learned what a human aneurysm feels like. I stared at Pam for a solid minute before she spoke again. "She didn't tell you that part, did she?"

"I didn't give her the chance. When she told me I had my titled taken, I didn't want to hear anything else. I had to take care of myself first."

She snorted. "You definitely are back."

I stared her down for another moment before she took her leave. I had formed a bond with a human. It wouldn't process in my head. I couldn't image why I would do something so foolish, but I suppose I had a just reason at the time. That would have to wait; I needed my title back first.

Opening my cell phone, I called the Queen's private number, something I ordered Pam to do but she walked away muttering something under her breath. It rang a few times, until her shrill voice came on the line.

"What do you want, Northman? Didn't get enough special privileges for your little girlfriend while you were here?"

"Girlfriend? Wait, I was in New Orleans?"

"It worked? You're memories have been returned?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I am myself once again. I am ready to have my position given back. You can send the necessary paperwork as soon as possible."

"No, I don't think so. I like having Pam as Sheriff, she's much younger, much more obedient to my orders."

"Pam obedient? I thought I was the one who lost my mind. But enough banter, send me the paperwork and I'll gladly fill it out in triplicate just to be Sheriff again."

"I think not. I've got enough on my plate with the negotiations with Arkansas. I'll keep Pam in power. Good bye."

She hung up on me. That royal pain in my ass denied me and hung up on me. If earlier I had an aneurysm, now I was having a full on stroke. I was no longer Sheriff, Pam was. I was bonded to an annoying telepath. I was out of sorts for three full weeks, living in the middle of bum fuck. I steadied myself, taking a deep, but unnecessary breath. My hands were clenched around the desk, the stress finally causing me to snap it in two. The crash caused Pam to come running into the room. I held pieces of the collapsed desk in my hands, noticing how sharp they were.

"As your maker, I could stake you right now without punishment."

"I take it the Queen wouldn't reinstate you."

"No. She mentioned I was in her area?"

"We all were; you, me, Sookie, and the shifter, Sam Merlotte. The Queen and the King of Arkansas are working out a wedding agreement. She wanted Sookie to read his and her human staff for problems."

"Why did the shifter come along?"

"You said it was to protect Sookie during the daytime. You weren't sure if we could trust the Queen to not kidnap her, since that's what Compton was sent here to do."

"You mentioned that before. Explain."

"He was sent to woo her into forming a blood bond so she would follow him back to New Orleans. The Queen wanted her in her court. You know she likes to collect oddities."

"She called Sookie my girlfriend. Do you have any idea what that means?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "It means that the two of you were awfully cozy."

I kicked away the broken desk, stretching my legs out in front of me. "I can't handle all of this right now. Sookie can wait, I need to deal with Sophie first. Get my car, we're going to pay her a visit."

Pam hesitated in the doorway, having a silent battle with her thoughts. "Permission to speak freely?"

"No. Go get my car, we'll talk on the drive down."

She sighed, sagging her shoulders. Something was bothering her deeply. "I understand you liked being Sheriff, but keep dragging your feet and I'll send you to the deepest depths of the Arctic North where no designers deliver."

She tossed me the keys to her BMW. "The 'Vette's at your home outside of town. It's easier to take mine. Let's go."

We were on the road quickly, especially with my notorious lead foot. Normally I would just fly there myself, but I needed Pam as backup. We drove in silence for a few hours, Pam's uneasiness playing out on her features. I could tell she needed time to gather her thoughts so I gave it to her. To be honest, I had my own thoughts still waiting to be processed.

"Can I finally say the things you don't want to hear?"

"If all you're going to do is upset me, keep it to yourself. I don't need all the details of my time in Bon Temps."

"But Eric..."

"How long have you know me, Pam?"

"Since you turned me, a few hundred years."

"What have I always tended to first?"

"Matters that directly effect you, which is why you should know..."

"All I need to know is that I am no longer Sheriff, and Sophie is playing games, fucking with my already fragile mind. This will get handled before anything else."

"You don't even want to know about your bond?"

I gripped the steering wheel until I was worried it might fall apart in my hands. "What do you know of my bond with Sookie?"

"You called me asking for ways to protect her from the Queen. I described the process of bonding and pledging. The next night, you called again to confirm that you bonded with her and that no power on Earth would take her from you."

"Sookie did this willingly?"

"You said it was her choice. Sir, I think something much deeper than you can ever imagine formed between the two of you. When we were in New Orleans the past few days, you literally stared at your phone waiting for her to call you. You were glued to her side the entire time you were cursed."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I needed to go into my unscheduled meeting with the Queen with a clear head, not thinking of Sookie and her feelings. It was enough that I could feel her presence in my body, I didn't need to sit and think about the time we spent together. I didn't answer Pam, I just focused on the road ahead of me, pushing her sedan as hard as it would go, flying through the highway on our way to the southern half of the state. She didn't say another word on the matter.

**A/N2: Our little hellraiser is back, and ready to stir up some trouble! Heads will roll in NOLA if he doesn't get his way. Keep an eye out Monday for a teaser for chapter 11 in the Sookieverse forums!**

**Oh, and hey, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Do something romantic with someone you love. Like reading dirty smutty fanfic together and then acting it out. ;) **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm glad so many of you like ass-kicking Eric. I do love my angry, avenging Viking. Later in this chapter, we finally learn Sookie's perspective on the moments when Eric got his memories back. How will she handle knowing that she's not number one in Eric's book anymore? I guess you'll have to read to figure it out!**

**Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty, for going over this for me. This was the second of three chapters she got during the snowstorm, so she wasn't entirely sick of me yet. I'm glad I could surprise her this weekend when she opened the attachement and didn't find chapter 13 of this story but the first chapter of the sequel to Danger is a Dame, titled Danger in Dixie. It will be posted this coming weekend, so keep watch. Feel free to add an author alert, if you haven't already, to be one of the first to hear about it!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

**Still Eric's POV, the night he regained his memories**

I walked through the Queen's headquarters as if I owned the place, because let's face it, if I wanted to, I could. A security guard was immediately at my side, giving me a smile and asking about Ms. Stackhouse. I gave him a sideways glance, arching my brow at his familiar tone with me. He was staff, I was Sheriff, just not technically. At least he did his job, getting us through check points with ease.

I walked into the Queen's sitting room, where she was lounging with a young girl working diligently between her legs. Andre wasn't far behind, staring the at her with disdain. Arkansas was no where to be seen, but that didn't matter to me. The girl stopped when she heard us enter, looking over at us.

"Oh hey, Eric! You back here with Sookie?"

What was with these vampires acting like they're my best friends? Who the fuck did this infant vampire think she was?! I'd have her head on a platter before the sun rose.

"Northman, this is unnecessary. You didn't need to come down here to see me, I'm still not giving you your area back."

"You're being stubborn, Your Majesty. Pam is more than willing to relinquish control. As you said, she's very obedient, especially to me."

She rolled her eyes, pushing the girl away and righting her skirt. "Is this true, Sheriff?" She made sure to accentuate the word just to ruffle my feathers.

"Of course, I understood it was a temporary placement. Eric is Sheriff of Area Five. I'm happy to serve under him. In fact, if it makes your decision easier, I quit."

"The both of you are so dramatic. Fine, I don't need either of you stirring up trouble. Give me the telepath, and the area is yours."

She was waiting to see how I played the game. Should I let her know I had no idea what happened while I was cursed? No, I needed the ball in my court. Sookie was an asset of my area, she'd stay with me.

"The girl is my bonded, she will stay with me at my side. You can have Pam if you want her."

"Keep them both, have everything you want. Why should I have the final say in anything that happens in my state?"

She crossed the room to a massive desk, pulling out a few different forms. "Fill these out, the both of you. You're lucky I'm distracted with Arkansas, or I would not have been this agreeable. You owe me, Northman."

"You wouldn't have it any other way." I snatched the forms away from her, passing a set to Pam. The Queen walked out of the room, the young girl in tow. We found a seat at a table, filling them out under Andre's watchful eye.

"Can I help you with something boy?"

"No, Sheriff, just doing my job. Say, what was it like, not knowing who you were? I couldn't imagine losing a thousand years of memories."

"Keep pissing me off, you won't know what it's like to have a thousand years under your belt."

"Did you enjoy your time with the human? It must have been nice having a nightly meal."

"It was even nicer having her warm my bed." Bluff your way out of this, Northman, don't let him have the upper hand.

"I heard you were found running down the main road by her home. Interesting, don't you think?"

"Why would you say that?" You fucking weirdo.

"The wording of the curse was incredibly interesting. It placed you close to your heart's desire without allowing you to ever realize it. Get it, since you didn't have your memories, you wouldn't know you craved her so deeply."

"Oh, I knew it. I knew it when I was taking a nightly trip to Valhalla buried deep inside her. Why do you think I bonded myself to her?" I prayed there was an ounce of truth to that. I'd wanted Sookie since the minute Compton brought her to my bar that night in that little white dress.

He went to open his mouth again, but I stopped that with a well placed glare. "Andre, why don't you go sulk in the corner and shut the fuck up. Sophie-Anne has replaced you yet again and you're doing nothing but annoy me. The faster I finish this, the faster I get to go back to my bar and let things settle back to normal."

He tried yet again to get a word in. "One syllable comes out, I rip your fucking head off and use it as a bowling ball, your limbs as my pins."

His jaw clenched and he stormed out in a huff. I looked to Pam to help me fill in the blanks.

"The girl is Hadley Delahoussaye. She's Sookie's cousin and the Queen's new favorite child. Dumber than a bag of rocks."

"And the whole 'heart's desire' nonsense?"

"I tried to tell you in the car. The two of you were madly in love with each other. You were sweet, loving, protective. It was a side of you even I had never seen."

"It wasn't me, you twit. It was my body with someone else's brain."

"This isn't a case of body swapping, and don't call me a twit, I'm bailing your ass out. You reverted back to a primal version of yourself without any of this posturing bullshit. It was you, at the very core. It's just a side you've had buried for so long, you wouldn't realize it even if you did have your memories of the past few weeks. We shouldn't be here, you should be in Bon Temps with her, making this right. Sitting here, you're going to lose her."

Color me chastised, but she'd never know that. "My needs are more important that hers."

"You wouldn't have said that before Andre reversed the curse at the dinner last night. You nearly showed me my final death when I had the gall to insult her."

"Andre reversed the spell?"

"He read something he called an ancient love poem. My Latin is fairly weak, but I could pick out a few key phrases. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I got cornered by the other Sheriffs and when I returned to the room at sunrise, you were gone."

"How twisted is this mess?"

"It's all sorts of fucked up, sir. But I'm glad to have you back. I just hope you didn't muck things up with Sookie. She made you truly happy."

"Why, Pam, you sound like you actually like the little blood bag."

"I've grown fond of her. She's a lot tougher than she lets on. She held her own against the Queen and other vampires of power. As bad as it was for business, I liked seeing you at peace when you were with her."

I finished the last of the bureaucratic nonsense, signing my name with a flourish. I noticed Pam had finished as well, and I took her papers with mine to put on the desk.

"If we leave now, we can make it back north by dawn. I'll deal with Sookie tomorrow."

She walked out the room ahead of me, a smirk on her face. "Of course you will, you big softy."

"Pam..."

"Consider it my last act of defiance as Sheriff. Let's go."

* * *

**SPOV**

I watched him walk away, and as soon as I heard the front door slam, I broke down in sobs. He forgot everything, every ounce of the love we shared, every moment covering every usable service of my home. He had no idea about the bond. I cried even harder.

What happened to my Eric, the Eric who put me first. The night we learned how deep the rabbit hole of lies ran, when my life was in danger, he laid me down in bed and made love to me, telling me that I was most important. Now, he was God-knows-where trying to get his job back. He remembered who was number one to Eric; himself.

I laid on the quilt and cried as the fire died down. I went into the spare bedroom, gathered up his belongings and threw them into garbage bags. I had every desire to burn them but knew they were worth more than I made in a year. I left them in the bags, picking up the clothes I had picked out for him. I held them up to my face, inhaling his scent deeply. I wanted him back. I can't believe I ever thought I would want that Eric to be brought back.

I took the sweatshirt into my room, curling up in a ball in the center of my bed and started crying again. I was just starting to really let it out when my phone rang. I sniffled a few times, trying to settle my nerves. The caller ID said it was the bar; Sam would be able to handle me sounding like this.

"Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Sam. Sweetie, what's wrong, you sound like you've been crying?"

"The curse was reversed, Sam, and he remembers his whole life minus the three weeks we spent together. He walked out on me so he could go be Sheriff again." I couldn't hold it back, the tears just started to pour again.

"Well then I feel like shit asking you to come in tomorrow after I gave you the day off earlier. Do you want me to come over later?"

"No, and I'll come into work, hell I'll even work a double. I don't want to mope around the house all day remembering my Eric."

"I appreciate it, Sookie. I'll pay you overtime for it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"I will, Sam. Thanks for being a good friend. Good night."

I hung up, digging into my freezer for a pint of ice cream I knew was in there. I plopped down in front of the TV, carton and spoon in hand, to find some mindless comedy. It worked for a while, until the movie ended and Scooby Doo came on. It was the bad live action movie, but still, it reminded me of him. Before the tears could start, I shut off the TV, throwing the remote across the room.

The phone rang again and I really didn't want to answer. When it stopped, but started right back up again, I was worried about an emergency, so I dragged myself to the kitchen to answer.

"Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Amelia, is everything okay? You didn't answer and I was worried you didn't make it home safe."

"Ugh, Amelia, it's awful. Eric got his memories back, but he doesn't remember anything that happened between us. It's like he doesn't even love me anymore."

"Oh my Goddess! That blows. It's too bad Octavia's spell can't protect you from emotional pain."

"I wish it would. I just ate an entire pint of Chunky Monkey by myself, trying not to cry my eyes out. I'm allowing myself tonight to mope, but I'll be okay by tomorrow."

"You're a terrible liar. I've known you two days and see right through it. Well, hear right through it. Okay, here's what we're going to do. Since you're basically my new best friend, I'm going to help you through your funk. Turn on Comedy Central, Dodgeball just started. You need a dose of Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn and we're going to watch it together over the phone. If you lived closer, I'd be doing this with you live, so work with me, okay?"

It's nice having friends. We stayed up for the rest of the night talking on the phone watching stupid movies. She had me laughing instead of crying. It was nice that the biggest surprise from our conversation was that Steve the Pirate was actually Wash from Firefly. No crazy news about weres or vampires; just the fact that Alan Tudyk is amazing.

We hung up close to two in the morning. She promised to visit the next time she was up near Shreveport, which wasn't often but it was nice to have that out there. I got ready for bed, mentally prepared for my long day of work tomorrow. I was glad to be in good spirits, it meant I had a good chance of getting a decent night's sleep. I rescinded Eric's invitation out of spite. I'd deal with Eric on my terms, or whenever he deemed me important enough.

* * *

**EPOV**

I rose the next night with a purpose. I was going to Bon Temps and Sookie was going to tell me everything that happened. I dressed in my finest dress pants and a blood red button down shirt, leaving a majority of the top buttons undone for her enjoyment. I hopped in my red Corvette, on my way within a hour of sunset. I stopped just outside of town to get a bouquet of roses for her, opting for lavender instead of the stereotypical red. They were a symbol of enchantment, a word I had a feeling would describe my relationship with Sookie.

Pulling up the driveway I had paid for, I checked my appearance in the mirror one last time before I walked to her doorway. I knocked, waiting for her to answer but it never came. I listened closely in the house, there was no one there. If she wasn't home, she was likely to be at work. I sighed as I started the 'vette up again to go to the shifter's bar. This was far to much effort for a woman, but from what everyone was telling me, something major happened. I took a moment before I put the car in gear to try and tap into the bond. Since we were so close, I could probably feel her.

I opened myself up, feeling a wave of stress and exhaustion; she was definitely at work. Soon enough I was pulling into the lot of Merlotte's, tucking my baby in a spot far away from all the drunken hicks. I walked into the bar, head held high, clutching the roses in my hands. I spotted Sookie, taking an open booth in her section. She saw me, holding her hand up in the world recognized "just a minute" gesture. I sat patiently, smiling when she brought me a bottle of blood without my asking. I hated the stuff, but to make her happy, I could play nice and sip it.

She finally came to sit with me near midnight, once the bar had started to quiet down.

"So, are you Sheriff again?"

"Yes, it took a little coercion, but everything with the Queen has been settled. Now it's time for you and I handle our business."

"And what business is that?"

"Oh, how about you start with how we're bonded?"

"Oh, that. Well, surprise, we're bonded."

"What time does your shift end?"

"At one. But I'm sure you have more important things to settle."

I didn't like the stress she put on "more important". The bond suddenly flared with anger. "Dear one, what has you so angry?"

"Don't you dare touch that bond. I formed that with a vampire who actually loved me, who put me first, most definitely not you! I knew if you ever regained your memories, you'd be like this. You'd be a grade A asshole, worried more about being Sheriff than being with me. So you can just go to hell, Eric Northman, and take your purple roses with you!"

She picked the roses up and hit me with the bouquet several times before throwing the remnants at my head. She stormed off into the back of the bar and I sat there stunned. This was most certainly not how I intended tonight to go.

I gave her a moment to settle down, before I followed her, abandoning the stems at the table. I found her in the shifter's office, where she immediately slammed the door in my face. I clenched my fists, willing myself to calm down to have a rational conversation with Sookie. I had forgotten that when dealing with the temperamental barmaid, all rational thought goes out the window.

I could be a prick and leave, or I could be an even bigger prick and stay. Either way she would hate me. Why did I suddenly care so much what this human thought of me? A few weeks ago, I wouldn't object to a roll in the hay, but I certainly wouldn't go to these measures for it.

I decided to wait by her home, with the off chance something there would trigger a memory. I suppose what I wanted more than Sookie herself was a complete picture of what happened while I was cursed. I approached her porch for the second time that night, hoping she left the door unlocked. I opened the screen door and the kitchen door, but when I tried to enter, I couldn't. She withdrew my invitation!

Anger surged through my body, and this time it was clearly my own. If I could physically rip this bond out, I'd be ecstatic. I never had the desire to be tied to a human, I was truly out of my mind to have done it now. I had some time to kill until she returned home from work and needed something to occupy myself with. I chose my third favorite activity, aside from fighting and feeding; bothering Compton. He was my favorite little punching bag. Pam gave me all the details about his secret mission and I needed to blow off some steam. Mind fucking him would prove highly entertaining.

I crossed the cemetery knocking on his door, but there was no answer. I had the feeling that the entire world was ignoring me tonight and I didn't like it. I took out my frustrations on his front door, carving a message with my pocket knife for him to report to Fangtasia tomorrow evening at first dark. I stepped back to admire my handiwork when I heard a car driving down Hummingbird Lane. Checking my watch, it had to be Sookie.

Between my superior speed and her crappy car, I beat her to her back porch. She didn't want to see me; it was written across her face and flowing freely through the bond. For someone who hated it so much, she was projecting a great deal onto me. I could point that out to her, but that wouldn't remedy anything. She stared at me for a while, before huffing sharply and storming in the house. She slammed the door in my face, the second time that happened tonight for those keeping score.

"Sookie, open the door and talk to me." I was shouting at a door. This was ridiculous. I had a full length conversation with the rotting piece of wood for nearly ten minutes, in the hopes that she would open it.

Putting my own frustration and dignity aside, I circled the house, trying to find her window. When I finally succeeded, I could hear the sounds of a shower running. I closed my eyes trying to imagine Sookie in there, and my mind created a very vivid image of the two of us in there together. We were washing each other, letting our hands and mouths explore every inch of skin. It felt so real, the sensations were actually traveling along my skin, straight to my crotch.

I was shot back to the present to find her staring at me through the pane of glass. I suppose a six and a half foot vampire with a raging hard on was not was most girls wanted to see at their window. Or maybe it was, it depends on the girl.

"Let me in."

"I think not." She closed the curtains. She could at least give me the show of getting undressed for my troubles. I did travel all the way out here to see her.

"Lover, just talk to me. I promise to be a gentleman." Again, I was talking to walls and windows.

She came back to the window, still wearing a very angry expression. "Don't use words you don't mean. You don't love me."

"Apparently I did. From what Pam tells me it was very nice. Can't we have this conversation in the same room?"

"No. I'm going to bed, Eric."

She closed the curtains yet again and walked away. I stayed for a few moments in the hopes she would return. But she didn't. I was hit with a wave of sorrow and could hear her crying through the glass. I was the cause of all of this and she won't let me fix it. Guilt was not an emotion I particularly liked, or had much experience with. I needed to do something to make this right, but I didn't even know where to start. I'd just have to come back tomorrow and try again. She was worth it.

**A/N2: Oh how the tables have turned. Now Eric is making time to talk to Sookie, and she's not having it! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Don't worry fluff lovers, the angst starts to break and things start to pick up in the next chapter. Send me some review love and inspire me to post it faster!**

**I want to give a very special thank you to reader, morecks87, for leaving the line "Surprise, we're bonded," in a review and okaying my use of it in the story. It made me crack up and I knew I had to work in in somehow. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well, the past few days have certainly been a trip. Reading your reviews has been a little heart breaking at times. The majority of you enjoy my writing and my story, but there was a group that voiced the dissenting opinion. I appreciate everyone's honesty, and am sorry that some of you don't like the direction I'm going. But here's the thing. I like a softer Eric (let Dame be your guide); if you don't, then don't read this fic. I need to be true to me and my vision. This story is my baby, born out of wondering about how close Sookie and Eric could grow without all the political bullshit in the way.**

**I want to thank the all ladies on Twitter (you know who you are) for their supportive words. Every girl needs a little reassurance every now and then, and I got it in heaps from voices of experience. Getting to talk to writers who have been through a badly reviewed chapter is a nice support system to have in place. A very special huge thank you to A Redhead Thing for going over an outline that I wrote and providing her typical amazing feedback. As usual, a huge thank you to chisaii-kitty for her beta skills and giving me the thumbs up on the outline, too.**

**Okay, I'm getting off the soapbox. I'll let you get to this chapter. I'm very happy with it, and hope you will be too.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

When Pam walked in to Fangtasia the next night to find me already sitting behind my desk, she blew a gasket. I have never seen my child so bothered by my actions. She smoothed her hair back down, signaling to me that she was done ranting. She was staring at me, waiting for my next move. Little did she know that I've been here trying to piece together the nights I had lost.

I walked right past her, not even acknowledging her verbal explosion, to sit at my throne for a while. It would be as good a place as any to figure out how to handle Sookie. I needed a good ego boost after last night. I also needed a calm head before heading to Bon Temps. Compton had stood me up, ignoring my note left on his front door. I called Pam over to ask her about it, and she confirmed he was out of the country yet again, most likely hiding from my wrath. He was in for a surprise when he returned.

I looked out into the crowd, full of women excited to see my return to the bar. Some were cute, most were heinous, but none matched Sookie. My mind kept returning to her, how could it not. It was trying to fill in the blanks but nothing worked. Everything was fuzzy around the edges, glimpses of our time but nothing concrete enough to call it a memory. It was more feelings and sensations than complete thoughts or nights.

I quickly grew bored, deeming myself calm enough to try a gentle approach again. I let Pam know I was leaving, possibly for the night if everything went well. I opted to fly to Bon Temps instead of drive so I could feel the cool night air rushing around me. I landed on her porch, happy to feel her presence in the house. I fixed my wind tousled hair and knocked politely at the door. A few moments later, she opened it, rolled her eyes and slammed it in my face. There went my cool demeanor.

"Stackhouse, open this door immediately! I demand you tell me what happened during my stay here." Not the smoothest approach, but at least it was direct.

"You're not my Sheriff; I don't have to do a damn thing you say." Petulant child.

"You're an asset to my area; therefore you fall under my jurisdiction, so yes you do!" Great comeback, just watch her open the door now. If she says "No I don't," I'm going to stake myself to end my misery.

Son of a bitch, she opened the door. I waited for the invitation to come, but it didn't. She was teasing me, letting me watch her move about the kitchen as she cleaned, but never speaking to me or inviting me in. Finally, she caved.

"You're the one that wants to talk so bad, so talk. Run your little Viking mouth as much as you'd like."

Deep breath, we're making headway here. Don't fuck this up. "I just want to know what happened while I was here." That sounded nice and diplomatic. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

"No flowers this time? Didn't your mama ever teach you not to show up uninvited or without a gift?"

"Didn't your Gran raise you better than to leave a guest at the door without inviting them in?"

Oh, that was a low blow. My brain and mouth needed to start communicating again. Perhaps I wasn't put back together right. I'll just blame Andre and kill him whenever I get the chance. She looked at me, with a mix of rage and hurt in her eyes. It was the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. This was a battle of wills I wasn't sure I was going to win. When she spoke next, it was with a voice I had never heard. It was quiet and defeated. My words wounded her deeper than I could ever imagine.

"What do you want to know?"

"Were we intimate with each other?"

"On every available surface of the house. And outside a couple of times. We tried once on the roof, but the shingles hurt my back too much. You taught me things I had only read about, and a few I never knew existed. But don't you dare pervert anything, that was love making. Most of the time."

"Most of the time? And what does that entail?" I was getting interested. She piqued my interest when she blushed.

"There were a few times things got a little... out of hand. Like the night we bonded. That was pretty intense."

"Tell me about it. Let's sit in front of the fire and talk." She was killing me with her vague details.

She thought about my offer for a while. I could feel her hesitation and confusion. "Don't you think I deserve to have a complete picture of what happened?"

"I'm just trying to protect myself. I don't want to get hurt any worse than I already am."

"I was a fool for not putting you first. I was so distracted by not being Sheriff that everything else seemed so unimportant. But I've been shown the error of my ways. I had no idea how close we had grown. Please, let me in so we can talk."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Who are you, and what have you done with Sheriff Northman?"

I didn't know. I was never this nice to humans. Something deep down was speaking for me, and it seemed to be working on her. Perhaps this was her Eric trying to come out again. I let go of myself and let instinct take over.

"I don't know what I told you or what you shared with me. I don't know the things we did or the man I was. But if I could regain one set of memories, don't you think it's possible to get the rest?"

That did the trick. She walked to the still open door, which had to be letting all the cold air in, and stopped. She stared at the floor for a minute, before she looked up at me, dead in the eye. "Come on in."

I wanted to rush inside and reclaim her body, but that wouldn't get me far. I needed to take this slow, to make this right. I had to do this on her terms, not my own. I hated not having home field advantage. I walked in slowly, taking a seat on her ancient couch. That would be my next gift; new furniture. This couldn't be comfortable to her.

She sat down on the opposite end of the couch, playing with the fabric of her shirt. Her hair was damp and loose, her clothes for comfort, not fashion. She must have worked earlier in the day. I let her collect her thoughts, wanting her to make the first move. I would simply follow her lead.

"You were so innocent, so open. We could talk about anything and everything. You didn't have much to contribute when it came to sharing, but you were an amazing listener. I could tell you my biggest dreams and my deepest fears. There would be moments where the old you would come out; you were so protective of me. No one could even look at me wrong without you losing it."

"Pam told me I threatened her life on more than one occasion."

"You did! I've never seen her so submissive before. When she knew you were angry with her, she would do anything to get back on your good side."

"Tell me what happened between us and the Queen. Especially the part about Compton."

She looked depressed again. She didn't want me changing the subject. She wanted to talk more about us. I needed to make this about her. "I kept you safe from them, right?"

"Yeah. It's like the whole world was out to get me, and all I had was you. Turns out, it's all that I needed. You got Bill to confess to you that he was here to claim me for the Queen, drag me to her so I could do her bidding. We stayed up all night once trying to figure out how to protect me from them."

She laughed, but it wasn't a true laugh, it was full of sadness, longing. "You told me you wished that Scooby Doo would come and figure out what has happening with the Queen."

She kept speaking but all I could focus on was the pain in my head. It started between my eyes, causing me to close them, but that's when the images started. They still weren't complete pictures, but more detailed than earlier. I saw us sitting on the floor having the very conversation she mentioned. We went to see Pam after it; I could hear an annoying song being sung. In my voice. I wish I could glamor that one out of her head. No one needed to be subjected to my singing. We came home, I made a plan, and I told her I loved her.

My eyes shot open, connecting with hers. She was watching me closely, waiting for me to say something.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?"

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like you were in pain. Do you want me to heat you up a bottle of blood?"

"No, I just..." If I didn't have everything yet, I didn't want to tell her I had anything. It would break her heart if I left something important out. "I just need a minute to gather my thoughts."

I went to walk away. I made it midway through the kitchen before I heard her voice, once again quiet, barely above a whisper. "I loved you."

"Those are just words, Sookie. Words with a meaning I don't know if I understand."

"Then let me try again in a way I know you'll understand." She had come into the kitchen, walking around me to stand before me, taking my hands in hers. They were so small and warm, I never wanted to let go. "Jag älskar dig."

This tiny creature was speaking in my native tongue. It wasn't perfect, but it was damn close. I closed my eyes yet again and the whole world stopped. I fell to my knees with the pressure building in my head as everything was restored. It was all there; running down Hummingbird Lane, Sookie washing my feet, dressing me, taking care of me, our meetings with the Queen, our trip to New Orleans. Most importantly, every moment of passion, of closeness, of love. I could see the look in her eyes as I told her I loved her for the first time, the power that flowed between us as the bond was formed. I could feel the contact we shared every minute of every night, from the deepest, intimate contact, to simple hand holding.

I sat on the floor trying to compose myself once it all stopped. It was too much. I could never imagine something so strong could exist between myself and a human. I wasn't capable of such love. I couldn't tell her that now. I couldn't let her know that now that I had everything, I realized what I was, someone she would never see again since he didn't exist anymore.

"I have to go." That's the best I could do under the given circumstances. I placed a kiss to the top of her head, and was out the door before she could stop me. I'd rather her hate me for the vampire I was as opposed to the imaginary creature I could never be.

* * *

**SPOV**

The minute he was out the door, it took all my willpower not to cry again. He wasn't going to make me cry three nights in a row, I wouldn't stand for it. I picked up the phone, calling Fangtasia. If he wasn't here, then he was probably heading there. One of the fangbangers picked up and I demanded to speak to Pam. The authoritative tone in my voice scared her enough to get her to pass off the phone. She must be new. I had a sneaky plan in place, and needed her help in seeing it through.

"Sookie, please tell me you spoke to Eric. If I have to see him mope for another night, I'll pluck my own eyes out."

"Gross, Pam. But yes, I spoke to Eric. I told him a big chunk of what happened between us and he kinda freaked out. I think he got his memories back from our time together, and he didn't like what he saw." A tear slipped down my cheek, but I fought back the sobs. Pam and I were making headway as friends; I didn't want her to think I was weak.

"He's such a man sometimes. So afraid of his feelings. He doesn't want you to think he's mushy. He's got an image to uphold."

"I guess. Could you do me a favor? Will you call me if he comes back to the bar? But don't tell him I called."

"Sookie, I'm not one to lie to my Master but in this instance, I'm taking your side. Expect a ring from me shortly."

The line disconnected as Pam hung up the phone. I was giddy by the time I reached my bedroom, putting on something a lot nicer than my beat up sweatpants. I was just putting the finishing touches on my makeup when the phone rang. I ran into the kitchen, answering quickly.

"Hello?"

"Um, Mistress Pam told me to call this number and tell Sookie Stackhouse the cock has come home to roost."

"Of course she did, consider your message delivered."

I jumped into my car, pushing it as hard as it would go all the way to Shreveport. It was hard in my heels, but entirely worth it. I pulled into the lot at Fangtasia in just thirty-five minutes; we're talking near Eric-like speeds. I checked myself in the rear view mirror before I made my way to the line. I walked past all the bitching fangbangers, blocking all their cruel thoughts by throwing my shields up.

Pam was at the head of the line, checking IDs and taking cover charges. She eyed me up and down, giving me a seductive wink as I made my way inside. I took that as a sign of approval from her. If Eric wasn't going to talk this out, we would just have to handle it his way. Sitting in front of a fire wasn't the only way to get this boy to talk. I knew one very specific time he always opened up.

* * *

**EPOV**

I heard a knock at my office door and looked up, but did not believe my eyes. There standing before me was Sookie Stackhouse, the woman who just an hour ago was wearing dirty sweatpants and an oversized shirt. Now she was sliding her coat off, revealing a micro mini denim skirt and low cut halter top, highlighting her two best assets perfectly. Not to mention the four inch fuck me pumps. Oh, I'd be happy to.

She came in the office, shutting the door behind her, making a big show of sliding the lock in place. "We're going to talk about what happened one way or another. You won't talk on the couch, then we'll need to create another time to talk."

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

She straddled my lap, running her hands through her hair, fanning it over her shoulders. While doing so, she pressed her breasts dangerously close to my face. "I thought you remembered everything. Don't you know we always talk after sex?"

The blood drained from my body, pooling in just the right spot. From the moan that spilled from her lips, she agreed. She reached behind her neck, untying the bow that held her top in place. It fell to her waist, and it took all my willpower to not take her that moment. I spied two small marks on her left nipple, the result of my last feeding. I ran my thumb over the red dots and she shuddered under my touch.

"It's your favorite spot to feed."

"I know. I remember."

"Then you should know exactly what I like. And it's definitely not you keeping your hands to yourself."

She lowered her lips to mine, pressing them tentatively together. I wrapped a hand in her hair, pulling her face closer to mine as I returned her kiss. I tasted her lips, and her tongue slipped into my mouth. I moaned against her, amazed at how perfect we fit together. Her hips started working against my groin and I used my free hand to pull her down with more force. Her short skirt rose the rest of the way, and I noticed for the first time she wasn't wearing underwear.

"You've come here with the naughtiest of intentions, Lover. It appears we've both changed for the better."

"Talking happens after, sex happens first." Her hands flew to my waist as she ripped my belt from its loops, letting it crash to the floor. She undid the button and zipper so fast, I could only write it off as a product of the amount of my blood she's ingested.

Her clothes were off and on the floor within seconds, but I made sure to leave the pumps on. Pam had to get her shoe obsession from somewhere. I swept everything off my brand new desk, more than ready to christen it properly. I picked Sookie up from my lap, placing her on the edge, letting her legs hang off. I stood between her legs, grasping her face gently for another round of kisses. I left her breathless with her lips full and flushed, eyes closed in ecstasy. I dropped down to my knees, leaving a trail of kisses down her body. I was eye level with the crux of her legs, and started my kisses again at her knee, working towards her core. I had her whimpering even before my tongue made contact. I had her screaming after it did.

I slid my fingers deep inside her, finding her spot with ease. I circled her nub with my tongue, sliding my fingers in rhythm to her heartbeat. As it rose, I increased my speed and my suction, listening to the wail that was pulled from her lungs as her release rocked through her entire body. Her legs wrapped tight around my neck and am certain she was thankful that I didn't need to breathe. I kept going, keeping her coming until she was begging me to stop.

I could feel the blood pulsing through her legs; it took a great deal of resolve not to turn my head and bite. But she was right; her breast was my favorite place to feed. I ran my hands over her body, letting them become reacquainted with her curves. My mind still felt disjointed, but I was more than willing to work at putting the pieces together. Especially if I could put in my hours between Sookie's legs.

I started kissing the delicate skin of her neck, letting my length gently rock against her soaked center. She was begging within seconds, shuddering as my fangs grazed the skin, strong enough for her to feel it, yet not draw blood.

"Please."

"Please what, Lover? You know I'll give you anything you ask for." In bed, at least.

"I want you inside of me. I want you, Eric."

That's all I needed to hear. I drove myself deep inside her in one thrust, loving the way her body adjusted for my size. I could feel her muscles clenching around me, her legs wrapping around my waist to find the perfect angle. I lifted her yet again, falling back to my chair so I could watch her perfect body ride me to completion.

She braced her hands against my shoulders, working her hips and strong legs to work herself up and down my cock. She threw her head back in pleasure, letting the sexiest moans pour forth from her lips. I let my lips return to her neck, and she tilted her head to accommodate me. If she thought I would feed just yet, she was mistaken. I was willing to play with her anticipation though, again letting her feel the sharp points of my fangs.

She was working quickly towards her orgasm, as was I. As much as I wanted this to never end, I knew that there would be plenty of time to go again and again later. My hands found her hips, guiding her in a rhythm that would get us both there. She didn't seem to complain, letting me take over setting the pace. She was on the edge, panting and moaning with every thrust. My fangs found her breast, and once her blood flooded my mouth; my release pulled me down into the depths of ecstasy. Completing the chain reaction was Sookie's scream, feeling her muscles contract around me intensified my bliss. I don't think I've ever felt this right in my life; this complete, this whole.

She slumped against my body, and I gladly tightened my grip around her, holding her close to me. I never wanted to let her go, and the depth of my emotion was starting to scare me. She was human and feeling this level of attachment could not end well. She was my weakness; one enemies would be sure to abuse. One of us would end up hurt or dead because of this, but in this moment, I couldn't care. All I could focus on was the feel of her heartbeat against my chest, feeling it slowly return to a resting pace as her breathing returned to normal. She snuggled into me, letting out a contented sigh.

"Is now when we talk?"

"Mhm. Just let my brain start up again and we'll figure the rest out."

"We could just put it off a while longer and keep doing that all night."

She looked up at me, with as much anger in her eyes as she could muster. Her glare was counteracted, however, with her sex hair and flushed cheeks. "I drove all the way here without panties on to figure out how to get you to open up to me, we're going to talk whether you like it or not. We're not putting this off at all."

I pulled her back to my chest, where she immediately relaxed. "Alright, Lover. We'll talk."

**A/N2: Next chapter: The TALK! *ominous music plays* Dun Dun Dun!! **

**On a completely unrelated note, the story is starting to wind down. Trust me, it has nothing to do with the fact that some people didn't like one chapter, it's just getting to the point I wanted to get it to. I would estimate there are around 5 chapters left. Wrapping it up lets me focus on the Danger is a Dame sequel, Danger in Dixie, which has been speaking to me loud and clear, which I'm sure no one will complain about :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: So I ignored this story for a hot minute, missing an update. You guys can totally blame Danger in Dixie (which posted on Saturday, go read it) and the after effects of my very first hangover (an accomplishment for a 22 year old). **

**Speaking of Dixie, if you haven't read it yet, here's a link for the first chapter, just remove the spaces. The second will be posted shortly. ****http:// bit . ly / bblybN**

**As always, a lot of love for my beta, chisaii-kitty. I'm amazed she's not sick of me and my crazy number of updates yet. **

**And now, the long awaited TALK**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Eric and I finally decided on going back to his house to have "the talk." I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous; I was terrified he would reject me now that he had all his memories. In a sane world, he wouldn't. He would pull me into his arms and declare his undying love for me. But this was Eric, big bad Viking Sheriff of Area 5; he didn't have emotions, let alone acknowledge his love of a human. I had a lot of convincing ahead of me.

With the way he freaked out when he remembered, I was unsure how this talk would go. I'd never seen Eric Northman anything less than completely confident in himself. When we were in his office, he seemed so out of sorts, I could only write it off to his mind settling back into its normal patterns. He was trying to figure everything out, planning it meticulously, in typical Eric fashion. This was going to be interesting.

He decided to drive, offering to take me back to my car before dawn. We drove in silence, both of us trying to figure out what we were going to say once the conversation started. He pulled through the gates of the small community he lived in, and I recognized it right away. This was the house Pam brought us to first, the one she said was his favorite. Well, at least he wasn't taking me someplace he hated, I took that as a good sign. He parked in the garage, unlocking a door that led into the house, holding it open for me. I was glad to see he was back to being sweet, especially after the rough few days we had. We both said and did things we regret. Well, at least I regret them, but I could assume he didn't particularly like being a jerk.

I followed him through the house, back to the living room where I curled up on the couch. Predictably, he started a fire in the massive fireplace, and stood before it for a few moments, still lost in thought. He finally turned to me, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. I was letting him start the conversation, since I did most of the talking at my house.

"You need to understand that I'm not the vampire you took care of. That wasn't the real me. I think deep down, you knew that all along."

Crap. That wasn't the opener I wanted out of him. I was hoping for something more loving.

"I've always been drawn to you, Sookie. But I'm not the overly romantic, sensitive creature that took up residence in my body while I was gone."

"I didn't want to accept that, but I always knew it was a possibility. I knew doing everything in my power to get your memories back was the right thing, but most of the time, it's the last thing I really wanted."

"It's funny how hard you and Pam worked to get my memories restored, yet had nothing to do with the actual act."

"What are you talking about? You know what happened to get them back?"

"Yes, Andre read the spell to reverse it. He must have found someone who could crack Hallow's book."

"Son of a bitch! I hate that asshole!"

He roared out a laugh that reminded me of the carefree Eric he was in my house. He was completely relaxed, lost in his laughter. He looked back at me, smiling.

"I went to the Queen's compound to convince her to sign my Area back over to me, and he was so annoying. I wanted nothing more than to stake him."

"I wanted nothing more for you to stake him any time I had to be in the same room with him. Wait, you were in New Orleans? Did you see Hadley? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Last I saw her she was performing a sexual act on the Queen, so I suppose she's happy. She says hello, as does Rasul."

"Hadley's not so prone to making good decisions. I hope she'll be okay with Sophie-Anne."

"Don't worry. In a short while, Sophie will get bored and Hadley will be free to do whatever she wants once again."

A silence fell over us, not necessarily uncomfortable. We needed to get back to the meat and potatoes of our talk, we couldn't let a little diversion get us off track. He offered me a glass of wine, which I gladly took. I could use a little alcohol to loosen my tongue, letting me say the things I really felt without holding back. He returned from the kitchen, swirling a glass of red wine for me, and a glass of what I could only assume was synthetic for himself. We both took a few sips before getting back to talking.

"You haven't left my thoughts for one minute, even when I didn't have my memories of our time together. Pam had filled me in on some of the details, but I could have never assumed how close our relationship had become. Or how deep our feelings ran."

"I wasn't lying when I said I loved you, in either language. Swedish is not easy to learn with five gin and tonics in my system."

"Do you still love me?"

How am I supposed to answer that? Honesty is the best policy, I guess. "I want to. But I don't know if what I fell in love with still exists. I hope that version is somewhere deep inside you, just waiting to come out."

"Pam thinks so. She thinks I reverted to a primal version of myself. But I'm not so sure. I haven't been that in tuned with my emotions over the past few centuries. Vampires view emotions as weakness. I wouldn't have survived this long if I led with my heart, not my head."

"It's a different time now, though. Since the Revelation, survival's a lot easier."

"But as Sheriff, I need to be respected, which means I cannot be perceived as weak."

"Funny, you don't seem like the kind of guy who gives a damn what others think of you."

We both took a deep breath, his a little less necessary than mine, to calm down the tension that was starting to build. I had to remind myself not to get defensive or we wouldn't reach any resolution.

"You asked if I still loved you, but could you ever love me the way you did?" It sounded like a fair question in my head, hope Eric felt the same way.

"Privately, perhaps. Never in front of others, as I did in front of the Queen during our first meeting in your living room. She would have been within rights to end my existence for that little performance."

"We'd never be that happy couple out on the town?"

"I didn't say that. I would be glad to take you anywhere you wanted, but I wouldn't be one of those pussy-whipped boys fawning for your attention."

"You'd make up for it in private."

"You know I would and you know I can. I could make you happy, Sookie. You're not the type to want to be showered with gifts as long as you are lavished with attention. I've never been anything but attentive and honest with you, with out without my memories."

"Would you put me first? I want to know that I'd be important to you, even with all the political garbage."

"I can't promise you'll always be first, but I will always act in your best interests. Your safety will always be my top priority, your happiness a close second. Scratch that, can I make your sexual satisfaction my top priority?"

I laughed, throwing a pillow at him. He could have easily dodged it, but he let it hit him as I intended. I guess he still possessed the ability to show his affection with those little gestures I loved so much. I yawned and stretched, revealing more than I wanted to. I was regretting my wardrobe choices.

He suggested we go lay down and continue talking, and it sounded damn good to me. I didn't realize how tired I had gotten. I was afraid I wouldn't make it back to Bon Temps. I wondered if Eric would consider letting me sleep here, or if that was even a good idea.

He took my hand as we walked to the back of the house to his bedroom and daytime resting spot. A vampire never shared that place with most humans and I knew the importance of Eric bringing me to the this place. It was one of those things that let me know how highly he thought of me.

He striped off his own shirt, handing it to me to wear instead of the uncomfortable slutty clothes. I took them off without a trace of modesty, pulling his large shirt around me. I could tell he appreciated the show by the playful look in his eyes. We laid down, him spooning behind me, and it was definitely confirmed that he liked what he saw. He stroked my hair for a while, letting his fingers trail down my arms every now and then. "You really do like to snuggle."

"Fucking love it. Just don't tell anyone, it would do terrible things to my reputation."

"My lips are sealed."

It was a hour or so before dawn. We had talked all night, and it felt amazing. We got a lot of things out in the open, things that needed to be said and shared. I realized he was always going to be bad ass Eric when we were with other people, especially other vampires. He told me he would try to open up when we were alone, to try and get in touch with the persona he had without his memories. All that was left was me. Was I willing to compromise what I had with him those three weeks? Would our life together ever compare to what we had? I needed more time to think, but the sun would rise soon. Eric still needed to take me back to my car.

"Stay here for the day. I won't be much fun, but I would love to rise with you still in my bed. I need to know your answer, how you want to move forward. The room is light tight, and with the double door you'll be able to leave the bedroom to walk around the house. I assure you, it's scarcely but properly stocked for human life."

That was a huge gesture on Eric's part. Bill had never even shown me where he slept during the day, let alone invited me to stay there. I cuddled closer to him and fell asleep almost instantly, letting my soft snores be my answer.

* * *

When I woke up, Eric was in daytime mode but still had his arms wrapped around me. It took a little wiggling, but I was able to get out of his grip. I looked for a clock so I could figure out what time it was. Without any windows in the room, it was hard to gauge how late I had slept. It was just past two in the afternoon, giving me a few hours to tinker around the house on my own. I slipped out of the bedroom, careful to close the inner door tight before opening the outer of the double doors to prevent any light from spilling in. Burning Eric to a crisp would definitely be counterproductive to getting another invite to spend the day.

I walked through the house, even though I had seen everything already. This time I didn't have Pam's hawk eyes on me, so I was a little more relaxed. I found my purse in the living room, checking my phone for missed messages. There were two; one from Sam and one from Amelia. Listening to their identical voice messages was funny, I really should try and set them up. Despite the distance, they would make a cute couple. They could bond on how overprotective they are of me.

I called them both back, letting them know I was in a much better head space than I was a few nights ago, when they had caught me hysterically crying. I didn't give everything away, since I still hadn't made my decision. I just told them that Eric and I were talking things out, trying to come to a mutual conclusion about our relationship. I kept it brief and diplomatic with Sam, but Amelia wasn't buying my vague descriptions. I caved, and an hour of girl talk later, I felt better about moving forward with Eric. Amelia convinced me that as long as he promised to try, I owed it to myself to give him a chance at being a good boyfriend. Even if things didn't work out, at least I could say we tried our hardest instead of me giving up on him. I couldn't wait until sundown to let him know.

My stomach growled, obviously upset at my decision to talk to Amelia instead of eat. We said our good byes and I made my way into the kitchen. Eric was right, there wasn't much food in the house, but thankfully there was a container of coffee and a coffee maker. He must have counted on me staying with him overnight at some point. I didn't really care about the reason's why, I was just happy to have a cup of liquid caffeine. He even went for the quality beans, not just the store brand that I buy. I sipped my drink while scrambling my eggs and dicing fruit for a salad. While I ate, I went over in my head all the things I wanted to say to Eric. He seemed like he wanted to give us a try, and if he was on board, I was there right along side of him.

It still hadn't really hit me that I was a sheriff's girlfriend. I would have to ask Eric what that would entail, since I really had no idea. When I read Carla's mind at the Queen's party, it was all sex with vampires and mindless shopping between spots that had been wiped clean. Was I expected to just sit and be pretty as his arm candy? Eric knew that I wouldn't be happy with that life, and he also knew he couldn't glamor away the bad things like Gervaise did.

Having Eric on my side would be good, especially when it came to working for the Queen. I knew that if anyone was going to stand up to her to protect me, it would be him. I'm so glad it's not Bill, he'd just hand me over to her, probably gift wrapped to her liking. During our talk last night, Eric had told me how hard he fought for his title. I knew he would fight just as hard for my safety.

I daydreamed way longer than I should have, and time was just slipping away. Soon enough, Eric would rise and I'd get to tell him the good news. I found the bathroom and was blown away at the size of the shower. It wasn't a dinky little tub like mine, it took up half the room and had dozens of little nozzles spotted throughout the wall. Two big sprayers were posted on opposite ends, and three more shower heads were mounted to the ceiling. It was the most complicated shower I had ever seen. I literally could not find the dials to start the water. I stepped back to look at it as a whole, and found a touch screen panel on the outer wall. Eric had an electronic shower, now I had seen everything. I had no idea how to make it work, so I decided to just wait out the sunset and take a shower with Eric. That sounded like a far better plan anyway.

I found a toothbrush and toothpaste on the sink, neither looked like they had ever been used. Again, I assumed he had bought them for me, in hopes I would come stay here more often. He was trying to make me feel comfortable in his home, and I greatly appreciated the gesture. I considered myself acceptably morning breath-free and made my way back to the bedroom.

I noticed for the first time that I was still wearing only his shirt. I wish I had had the foresight yesterday to pack a pair of undies and a bra in my purse. I guess I didn't realize how effective my plan would be. If I'm being honest with myself, if I had worn underwear, Eric probably would have destroyed them anyway.

I tucked myself back into bed, back into his arms like I was when I woke up. I wouldn't have to wait too much longer for the sun to set, and Eric usually rose a few minutes before then anyway, one of the perks of being old as dirt. I traced my fingers over the muscles of his arms and chest, trying to memorize every curve and indent. He was strong; he used to be a warrior and his body definitely showed it. Even without his vampire strength, he could snap me like a twig. I studied his face while it was relaxed in his sleep, noticing for the first time how his blond eyelashes touched the tops of his cheeks. He looked like an angel when he wasn't plotting and scheming.

Feeling a vampire wake up is a very interesting sensation. I could feel his muscles begin to reanimate, starting in his chest and working its way out to his extremities. Just like with humans, his eyes fluttered open, readjusting as he woke up. He smiled down at me, before flipping me over, pinning me to the bed. He held my arms down with one hand, pressing his body weight into me. I could feel the magic around me, but it wasn't pushing him away like I thought it would. I guess it finally recognized Eric as my man. I should probably tell him that I made a decision about us, but with his gracious plenty digging into my hip it was hard to form thoughts outside of what I wanted him to do to my body.

His lips found mine, and all ability to think went right out the window. I thought he was a great kisser without his memories, but now it was even better. Maybe it was just because we had become very familiar with each other's body. Whatever the cause, I didn't want it to stop. His kisses started traveling downward, nibbling on my neck, letting just the tip of his fangs scrape along the sensitive skin. I had never wanted him more in my life, I was desperate for his touch.

He pulled his shirt over my head, smelling my skin. If a person was dating a Supe for the first time, that would seem like a peculiar gesture, but I was pretty used to it by now. I just hoped he didn't notice that I didn't shower.

"Mmm, Lover, you've been wearing my shirt all day. I can smell it on your skin."

He made a few more happy noises that sounded more like growls to the untrained ear, which vibrated against my skin, sending shivers all over. He kissed me again, tasting my lips and tongue, hell, probably my tonsils. He made his way to my ear, letting his lips trace over the shell as he spoke. "And your kisses taste of the sweet fruit I left for you. All your favorite flavors are quickly becoming mine, as well."

I was begging at this point, arching my back to rub my body all over him. He was creating friction in places I didn't know I had. His sexual prowess was definitely learned over the centuries. That's not to say he wasn't a good lover then, he was amazing, but this Eric knew how to build it up before letting me fall. He knew every place to touch to set me on fire, and the man was still wearing his pants. He was good.

I wanted to talk, wanted to tell him I wanted him in my life, but I think we were both letting our actions speak louder than words. Besides, we always talk after sex. Interrupting him now would only break the pattern we established. I'd be more than happy to hold my tongue for now, as long as he kept using his tongue the way he was.

I was completely nude, writhing on his bed, desperate for him. He had taken up residence between my legs, kissing the delicate skin of my inner thighs. I had my hands in his hair, trying to guide him where I wanted him, but I had no luck in making my vampire do anything he didn't want to do. He had a plan for my pleasure, but I wanted instant gratification. He propped his chin on my hipbone, a smug smile crossing his lips.

"Say it. Say what you've wanted to say since I rose. I could feel your anticipation in the bond."

"I'm anticipating an amazing orgasm, which I could be having instead of this conversation."

"You'll feel much better once you get it off your chest, Lover."

I sighed, flopping dramatically against the bed. He planned this all along, getting me built up, so freaking close, and then letting me hang until I told him what he wanted to hear.

"I want to be yours. But that means you are mine in return." Vampires loved that word, they're all possessive little bloodsuckers.

"So you're saying that you are mine."

"Yes, Eric, I'm yours. Enough talking, back to what you were doing."

He bent my knees, trailing little bites down my leg, repeating his motions on the other side.

"What are you doing?"

"I was teasing you before, and you told me to go back to that."

"You're a pain in the neck sometimes, really, could you be more.... oh dear God in heaven."

I never got to finish that sentence since he took the distraction of my rant to wrap his lips around my nub and slide a two of those long fingers deep in my core. My hands took their place back in his hair, holding him to me. We worked his tongue over and over again, alternating between using the flat top and the point of the tip. He had me panting, begging him for more so fast, even I didn't recognize my voice. The words that were coming from my lips would make my Gran roll in her grave. The nasty thoughts just spurred him on, and as he curled his fingers against my spot, I lost it. I gave in to the pleasure, letting it wash over me like a tidal wave. I screamed his name to the heavens and any neighbor close enough to hear it.

Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, he thrust into me in one smooth movement. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding him to me, pulling him deeper into my body. Even when his hips met mine, I wanted more. I pulled his body on top of mine, needed to feel the weight of him holding me down, afraid I would just float away on the cloud of pure bliss I was currently resting on.

I expected it hard and fast like it was last night, a style Eric really seemed to enjoy. I was surprised when we just lay there for a moment, joined in every possible way, simply enjoying the feel of the other's body. He was kissing my collarbone and neck softly, the feel of his lips lingering long after contact had ended. He slowly started to move and I was rocking my hips in time to his, doubling the pleasurable sensations. He had one hand on my hip, letting his fingers trace along my side. Normally it would tickle beyond compare, but in my current state of relaxation, it felt amazing, adding to the other sensual feelings he was creating all over my body.

I felt like we were there for hours, enjoying the slow burn towards ecstasy. He would let my orgasm build, but just before it would crest, he would back off, going back to the slow, steady pace he started with. Finally, his resolve broke and his thrusts built speed. His dirty talk switched languages and I was lost in the sound of his voice, even if I didn't understand a word he was saying. His grasp on my hip turned firm, as if he was pulling my body up to meet him. I dug my nails in his shoulders, clutching him to me, afraid to let go. When he growled out "Mine," in my ear, biting down on neck, the whole world just stopped. If I thought my orgasm before was amazing, there wasn't a word to describe how awesome this one was. It just never stopped.

If he wanted to let me know what an eternity felt like, he was doing a great job. I was afraid at the rate we were going, I would miss my birthday and Christmas, but really didn't care. I had him, the real him, and I was still in his arms and in his heart. We were laying on our sides, facing each other, while my breathing returned to normal. He would steal a kiss every now and then, sometimes on my lips, other times on the tip of my nose or on my eyes when they would drift shut. He was being sweet, letting me soak it up now to have something to hold on to later. I knew he wouldn't always be like this, but knowing he could act this way towards me let me know that we had something good going on.

I could do this. We could do this.

**A/N: So, was that a productive enough talk? I think it went pretty well, and all parties involved were thoroughly satisfied with the results ;)**

**Leave me some love, let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Glad so many of you like their talk! It was the talk I dream of the real Eric and Sookie having. **

**[peer pressure] If you're a FanFic author and you're not on Twitter, you're not cool. Come be cool with us [/peer pressure]**

**Thanks to my beta, chiisai-kitty [who joined Twitter this weekend]. I would like to formally apologize for spelling her name wrong for God-knows how long. I don't know what's worse; the fact that I was spelling her name wrong or the fact that she didn't notice :)**

******Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**SPOV**

We stayed in bed for a while, just enjoying each other's company. I finally suggested taking a shower together, a memory he was more than happy to recreate. I admitted to being stumped by the complexity of his shower, which he got a laugh out of. He carried me into the bathroom, and a few quick pecks to the touch pad later, the shower was billowing steam; it looked so inviting. He let me go in first to experiment with the different nozzles and finding the right temperature.

He watched me under the water for a while. Normally, this would have made me self conscious, but after the other night at Fangtasia, I had been feeling much more bold. I stood under one of the ceiling mounted heads, letting the water rain over me as I ran my hands over my body. As strong as Eric was, even he could only take so much and soon he was under the spray with me, attacking every inch of my skin with his lips. His hands were everywhere, at some point he must have picked up the soap since I became covered in suds. His hands slid easily over my now slick skin, massaging as he explored.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his head down for a kiss. He pulled me closer to him until our bodies were flush against each other. With the way the water was spraying down on us, it felt like kissing in a rain storm, except we were completely naked. Don't get me wrong, I would never complain about being naked with Eric, but I'm not likely to go run in the rain like this. He pressed me against the wall, and I braced myself for the sudden cold shock. It never came, in fact the tiles were warm. He must have read the confusion on my face or over the bond. With a smirk he told me that the walls of the shower were heated, so no cold tiles. He would never cease to amaze me.

Several rounds of steamy love making later, we finally emerged from the bathroom. It was getting late, and Eric had to put in a few hours at the bar. It seems I distracted him from his duties last night, and the fangbangers were complaining to Pam. To stop her from killing anyone, or perhaps to make it so he wouldn't have to clean up her mess, he promised he would sit center stage and play with his food.

He opened a closet, and it was stocked with women's clothing. I gave him my best angry eyes, but he wasn't buying it. I was convinced these clothes belonged to the women he slept with, but I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Upon closer inspection, they were all Pam's clothes. She and I were about the same size, and after a little digging I found a pair of jeans and a cute sweater, along with the proper underthings, to wear. I'd have to remember I could steal her clothes for the future; she had some really cute outfits in there. Eric said that this closet was only a small portion of her wardrobe since she doesn't spend much time at this house anymore.

I made myself a sandwich while Eric took care of some business before we could leave. I was happy he had all his memories back; he knew all of my favorite foods and had them stocked in the house. I sat sipping on my Coke when he finally came out from the back of the house. I nearly choked when I got a good look at him; tight black leather pants and a tight black tank top. Yum.

"Lover, if you keep looking at me like that, we'll never leave the house."

"We don't really have to leave. Pam can handle herself." No sane person would turn down Eric dressed like that. Maybe I should spend some time at the bar tonight, let all those bitches know who's the real boss. "So now that we're bonded, and dating, you won't drink from or have sex with anyone else, right?"

He stopped for a minute, obviously thinking about what I'd asked. "I haven't fed on or fucked anyone since our time at your home."

Now that floored me. I was definitely not expecting to hear that. Sheriff Eric was a hornball, taking the most beautiful fangbanger as a nightcap. "Oh, so let's keep it that way. I like a loyal boyfriend."

"Then you can expect my attentions often since I have very demanding needs that I'll need you to satisfy."

I'd never complain about having to entertain my vampire. I slipped on my coat and we were out the door on our way to the bar. He parked next to my car, wrapping me up in a toe curling, mind blowing kiss right there in the parking lot. The minds of the people on line were buzzing with jealously and hatred, but I couldn't care. His was mine, and they could just suck it.

**EPOV**

After making sure Sookie was in her right mind after that kiss, I watched her drive her rusted out excuse of a car back to her ancient farmhouse. If I had my way, she'd live with me full time, not just making visits when she saw fit. I knew she was stubborn and would never agree to it, especially if I kept pressing the issue. I'd just have to find a way to covertly convince her to move in with me.

I locked the car up, walking to the front door where a line of fangirls was already screaming for me. The adoration does great things to my ego, but I knew the only one I truly cared about was Sookie. I could feel her apprehension earlier when discussing my habits, and I knew it was important for her to know she was my one and only. It was still a foreign concept to me, but the connection that had formed between Sookie and myself was a strong one that I still wanted to explore.

I completely ignored the humans on line, greeting Pam with a smile. When I saw a smile beaming across her face, I knew something good was about to happen.

"Compton is in your office, sweating metaphorical bullets. What did you do?"

"I left him a note to come speak with me whenever he returned to Louisiana." The twinkle in my eye gave me away to my dearest child, who immediately called someone else to watch the door so she could see the performance that was about to happen.

I stormed into my office, steadying my features as to not reveal anything to Compton. He was already seated in the chairs in front of my desk. I made sure to walk closely to him, so he could smell Sookie's scent on me. I'm sure he could even still smell her essence in the office after our romp last night. I certainly could, as my fangs clicked into place the moment I entered the room. I took my seat, stretching my legs out on top of the table. Pam took a seat on the couch at the rear of the room, just waiting for the show to start.

"You know, Sheriff, most would just leave a note tacked to the door, or a voicemail. You didn't need to destroy my property."

"But it was much more fun my way. Why don't you send a bill to your precious Queen, I'm sure she'd love to take care of her favorite little spy."

The way he squirmed in his seat let me know I was getting to him. Poor bastard couldn't school his expression to save his life. It would feel wonderful to kill him myself, rip him to shreds with my own two hands, but I knew it would upset Sookie. As deeply as he hurt her, she still held some misguided love for him. I'd never understand where it came from, but I could respect her wishes for now. The fact that he wasn't already dead was a sure sign that Sookie had changed something in me, still unseen if it was for the better.

"You needed to speak to me about something?"

"You know exactly what I wanted to speak to you about. I have completely regained my memories, and now you and I have some matters to settle."

"In regards to Sookie, then."

"I want the entire truth, right now, or you won't make it until sunrise."

"I was under direct orders from the Queen not to discuss my mission with you."

"And now?"

"She's not exactly speaking to me. She called me a fuck up for letting a human break up with me."

"You are a fuck up, but for far different reasons. Talk or meet your final death, your choice."

He sighed, a completely unnecessary waste of my time. I chose that moment to take the stake out of my top drawer and practice a stabbing motion.

"The Queen asked me to come to Bon Temps to get Sookie to bond with me so I could bring her back to New Orleans for the Queen's own personal uses."

"And you failed since Sookie is a stronger creature than you'll ever dream of being. Now, what business do you have in my area?"

"Now? No business, Sheriff. I'm still working on my database, which is why I've been traveling so much."

"Fantastic for you. That means you can use any city as a base of operations. Get out of my area. Speak to Sookie before you leave and I'll destroy you in the most painful way possible."

He ran from my office without another word. What a waste of a vampire. I sat back, happy with the outcome of our meeting. With him gone, I wouldn't have to worry about Sookie living just across the cemetery from him. Having him in such close contact was not one of my favorite things. I'd feel much better once he left town for good.

I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply. Sookie's scent clung to my clothes and the air in the office had just a hint of her lingering still. I must have gotten lost in the fantasy as Pam clearing her throat nearly startled me. I wouldn't let her know that though.

"What do you want?"

"You're totally in love with her aren't you?"

I snorted. It wasn't a real answer, but it was the best she was going to get. I didn't have a word for the emotions that Sookie stirred in me. And even if I did, Pam would not be the first person I told. If she knew the depth of my feelings, the entire Area would know before dawn.

"You love her and you haven't told her since you regained your memories? Abby would be disappointed in you."

"Abby?"

"Dear Abby. She writes a column giving advice on every topic under the sun. I use her as a reference point for human relations. She knows everything about everything, and is never wrong."

I gave her a stare that only she would ignore. I busied myself with the paperwork on my desk, mundane things such as payroll and inventory. She stood before my desk, waiting for my attention to return to her, but she would be waiting a very long time. I didn't need her advice on how to woo Sookie. I did a damn good job of it even without my memories, I think I could manage with ten centuries of knowledge at my disposal.

"You should take her on a date. Buy her flowers, take her to a romantic dinner and a movie. Oh, you should definitely take her dancing, she would love that."

So, my child decided that she would just talk at me in the hopes that something would absorb through some form of mental osmosis. I got up, walking right past her to go sit with the vermin. That was the reason I had come into the bar instead of keeping Sookie pinned to my bed for the rest of the evening.

I took my usual seat, an obnoxious golden throne that the humans loved and I despised. I usually preferred my corner booth but after my extended absence, I should be on center display. The humans seemed to enjoy it, even though I sat there ignoring them and looking bored. I took my phone out of my pocket, searching online for more news about this Dear Abby person. I read a few of her columns, and they were absolute garbage. Pam should start a vampire version for the Supe community, that could be an interesting source of income.

An incoming text alert flashed across the screen, and when Sookie's name came up, it took all I had not to smile. She and I hadn't even been apart for a few hours, and she was already reaching out to me.

**Bill just left a box of my things on the porch, with his entire life packed in his car. What happened?**

I frowned at Compton's blatant disregard for my order to stay away from Sookie. I suppose I could let him off the hook this one time since it was just to drop of her belongings, which she probably left at his home while they were dating. The wuss still held on to them in the hopes he would win her back. When she was faced with me or him, I would win every time, unless it was a competition on who could whine more.

**I suggested he return to the Queen's court. He must have listened. See you later tonight?**

If I hadn't hit send so quickly, I would have deleted that last part. I didn't want to look clingy or needy. Wanting to see her again after seeing her earlier this evening definitely read as clingy and needy. Maybe I did need Pam's help on this dating thing.

**I'm working the early shift tomorrow, need a good night's sleep. I'll be out before dark tho, want to meet up then?**

Ah, bailed out by the shifter. She'd be working tomorrow, but free after dark. Should I take Pam's advice and take her on a modern date? Would that be something that would win my favor with Sookie? Flowers didn't work out so well last time I tried them, I'd need a different approach.

**Tomorrow evening. It's a date. See you then, Lover.**

I put my phone away, starting my plan for my date tomorrow with Sookie. I wanted to impress her, I couldn't just take her to Merlotte's for a beer and a burger. That doesn't exactly scream class. I left for the privacy of my booth, making a few quick phones calls. I made reservations at a lovely Supe owned Spanish restaurant for their best table. The hole in the wall eatery was one of my favorite places to people watch. Couples would let loose on the dance floor, and a suave old vampire could do quite well for himself if he knew a few salsa steps. It hosted a much higher clientele than Fangtasia drew in, a perfect spot for when I drew bored of the garbage.

As much as I wanted some alone time, I was more than happy to entertain an old friend for a few minutes. He was new to the Area; he was once a sheriff, but after so many years, he was enjoying a retirement of sorts. He had opened up a dance club of his own, inviting me to come see it for myself whenever I got the chance. I told him I would consider it, but had already decided on taking Sookie there as well. She enjoyed dancing, and I thought she would be more comfortable outside of Fangtasia. I wouldn't want to bring her to my own club for every one of our outings. I'm sure it wasn't her ideal night out.

I dismissed him a short while later, trying to round out our evening with another typical date night activity. Pam had mentioned a romantic movie; Sookie certainly enjoyed them if her DVD collection was any indication. I pulled up the movie listings, and after reading a few reviews I choose some romantic comedy starring a young starlet on the cusp of fame. She's cute; blonde, tan, big smile, a little bit like Sookie. Perhaps that's why the decision was so easy.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, and soon Pam and I were shutting down the bar. The human staff had left for the most part, a few newer members staying behind in the hopes of coming home with one of us. Pam shooed them away, literally kicking one out the door. She took far too much enjoyment from that. I'd be lying if I said I didn't, too.

I hated having to admit to her that I wouldn't be in tomorrow night for the sole reason that it meant having to admit that I took her advice to the letter. Pam would be gloating for days, and I couldn't stand her when she was like that. I could lie, but she'd know it. She's the one vampire that always has a good read on me.

"Pam, I won't be coming in tomorrow night and I expect not to be disturbed."

She gave me a look that said she wasn't buying my lack of details. I shot her one back that said she wasn't getting any more. We sat there staring at each other, neither relenting their position. I knew she would eventually back down, she always did. With the cock of my eyebrow, she walked away towards my office. She emerged with a stack of papers in her hand, giving them to me. I skimmed through them, realizing they were articles from that damned columnist.

"These are some of my favorites. It would do you good to read them over. You are taking Sookie out tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, Pam, I'll be out with Sookie. Dinner at La Luna Llena, tickets to some rom-com garbage that she'll probably adore, then I'm taking her to Lust for a little late night dancing. Would Abby approve?"

Like I cared. Oh shit, I actually cared. I was telling Pam to get her opinion. I wonder how much longer I could blame my mental faults on my memories settling back in place.

"Abby would love that plan. Well, I don't actually know how she feels about vampires. Perhaps I should write to her asking about it!"

"Knock yourself out. But not tomorrow; tomorrow you need to keep an eye on things here. As I said, interrupt me and I'll end you."

"Blah blah blah, how often do you threaten to stake me? I don't think you've ever stopped since the night you turned me." She gave me a wink as she walked out the front door, holding it open for me to follow.

I shut down the bar for the night, joining Pam in the parking lot. After locking the doors, she walked with me to my car. I turned to her with a smile on my face. "One of these days, I'm going to do it and you'll be shocked."

"Of course, sir. I'll be sure to tell you how shocked I am while my body is turning to goo before your eyes."

**A/N2: Oh that Pam! She slays me. **

**Next chapter: Date night! Chapter after that: Finale!**

**Don't worry, Dixie will keep you entertained. Promise**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: It's date night! Both of these crazy kids are excited to get all dolled up and fancy, so let's get right into it!**

**Thanks to chiisai-kitty's awesome beta skills, as always.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**SPOV**

It's a date? Eric texted me that it's a date. We're going on a date? Seriously? Ohmygod!

Any date I'd ever been on had been to Merlotte's or Fangtasia. Bill wasn't a very original boyfriend. I highly doubt that Eric intended to take me to either of those places. On his night off, he probably wouldn't want to go to his own bar. Or would he? What should I wear; would this be a special night out or just an ordinary date? I'd like to retract that question; this is Eric Northman, nothing is ever ordinary.

I paced my house freaking out trying to come up with a plan for our date. I didn't even know where to start. Who does a girl turn to when she has questions like this? Her girlfriends, and I had one of those now! I grabbed my phone, dialing Amelia's number by heart. She answered on the second ring and we proceeded to squeal like five year olds for a while. I came to the conclusion that I'd wear something cute but not overly fancy, letting my hair dry naturally into soft waves.

I went to bed that night insanely excited for my first official date with Eric. I was having an amazing sex dream when my cell phone scared me half to death, waking me up right before my happy moment. Grabbing it off my night stand, I noticed it was a text from a strange number, received at four o'clock in the morning! Who would be texting me at this hour?

I opened the flip phone, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness and glare of the screen. When they were finally able to decipher the letters, my heart skipped a beat.

**He's giddy as a schoolgirl, don't fuck it up. Fancy restaurant, movie, night club. Dress appropriately ~Pam**

Eric was giddy? I couldn't believe it, Pam must be over exaggerating. I knew Eric would never show that type of emotion in public. I read it over a few times, completely rethinking my outfit. I was just going to wear jeans with a cute top, but that wouldn't cut it now. I couldn't think of the point of going to a fancy restaurant, it would be totally wasted on him. The only logical explanation was that he wanted to impress me, which made me giggle out loud. Great, now I was acting like a schoolgirl.

I tried to go back to bed, but couldn't with the excitement coursing through my veins. Instead of sleeping, I tore through my closet trying to find something nice. I'd have to call Amelia back to get her approval. Maybe I could go to Tara's Togs and buy something new. I did have the remnants of that nice check from Pam just burning a hole in my pocket. After resigning myself to the fact that nothing I owned would be nice enough for my date (_giggle_), the tiredness started to seep back in. I laid back down, making sure to set an alarm so that I'd get up early enough to do some shopping before my shift.

The damn thing started going off again as soon as my head hit the pillow and I was ready to throw it across the room. Picking it up, I noticed it was the alarm going off. I'd fallen asleep so fast that I didn't even notice. My excitement carried over and I was bouncing into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee started. While it was brewing, I took a quick shower and tossed on my winter uniform. I ate some breakfast, chugged down my coffee, and called Tara to ask her to pick out some things she thought I would like. I didn't want to kill time browsing and she had far better fashion sense than I did. I drove over, and Tara wasted no time in getting me into the fitting room with an armful of clothes. Most of what she pulled for me was low cut; she knew how vampires liked their girls dressed up. I finally found something I liked, a deep burgundy sweater dress with a pair of tights and chocolate brown knee high suede boots.

I quickly put my work clothes back on, tossing my selections to Tara over the curtain so she could ring them up. She had a sale going on and claimed everything I chose was discounted, but I think she took way too much off the price. I wanted to argue with her, but I was running short on time. I'd have to invite her over for dinner one night to catch up as my way of returning the favor. Maybe I'd even invite Claudine, too, and we could make a girl's night out of it. I doubt Amelia would make the drive up for one night, but I'd be sure to include her in the next one. I'd realized how nice it was to have girlfriends and wanted to reconnect with Tara.

I made it to Merlotte's with three minutes to spare, tossing my purse in Sam's desk, stashing my shopping bags in the corner and tying an apron around my waist. I ran through my shift on autopilot, fantasizing about what would happen tonight. Eric had exquisite taste and I didn't know what to expect for our fancy dinner/movie/dancing-filled date.

The minute the clock hit five I was out the door, rushing back home to finish getting ready. I knew that I'd have at least a half hour after sunset until Eric would be at my door. I took a super quick shower and set my hair in curlers to give it a little extra bounce. I used the blow dryer on its highest setting so it would take the least amount of time. Going through the bags, I noticed Tara had tossed in a matching lace bra and panties set in the same dark red as the dress. That girl was way too good to me.

I was just wrapping the brown suede belt around my waist, which Tara also put in the bag without my knowledge, when there was a knock on the back door. I ran from my bedroom to the door with a huge smile on my face. I saw my Eric standing in the doorway, waiting to come in like a gentleman with a bouquet of orange and pink stargazer lilies in his hands.

"Flowers? That's a brave purchase you got there."

"I thought perhaps you didn't like roses. Or the color purple. I went a different route this time."

"I love them, please come in."

He crossed the threshold, handing me the flowers and placing a surprisingly gentle kiss to my cheek. That wasn't going to cut it with me, so before he could pull his face away, I pressed one to his cool lips, a kiss he gladly reciprocated. I found a vase for the flowers, putting them in the living room. I grabbed my purse, turning to face Eric only to catch him looking me up and down.

"See something you like there, Viking?" I was still giddy, feeling playful for the first time in a long time. There wasn't anything bad happening in the world and we could just enjoy our night out.

"I see something absolutely stunning, Lover. Is this new? I'll have to behave myself; I wouldn't want to upset you by tearing it to shreds later."

"Yes it's new, so I would appreciate you leaving it intact for tonight." I walked over to him, leaning against him, pressing my body to his in every inch possible. I could feel him getting hard beneath his dark jeans, and I felt empowered knowing that a little barmaid could affect a vampire with the simplest gesture. "But that doesn't mean I don't want you to take it off later."

He growled, gripping my hips, holding me tight to him. "Are you really that hungry? We could just skip your dinner and go straight to mine." His fangs dropped down, and he smiled wide so I could see them. My stomach grumbled in response, effectively killing the mood. He kissed me sweetly before releasing me.

"Let's go eat then, shall we? We have all night for those other... activities."

We were out the door, and in the Corvette before we let our carnal desires make us miss dinner. The drive to Shreveport went quickly with Eric behind the wheel. We made small talk, which was hard since we had just seen each other the night before. His number one question was about my outfit from the other night. I think he was just curious if I had more miniskirts lurking in the back of my closet. It broke my heart to reveal that it was part of a Halloween costume from a few years ago. Lafayette had convinced all the waitresses to be his ladies and he was our pimp. Sam was less than thrilled.

I didn't tell him that Pam texted me; I didn't want him to get mad at her for selling him out. He kept running his free hand over my leg and it was doing wonderful things to me. I couldn't tell if he just liked touching me, or if he liked the way the material of the dress felt. It was probably a little bit of both, leaning more so on the side of teasing me.

He pulled up to a small building, where even from the outside, I could hear the soft sounds of a guitar being played.

"La Luna Lena?"

"It's pronounced 'Yena'. In Spanish, the double L is treated as a Y. It means the Full Moon. It's owned by one of the members of Alcide's pack. It's a wonderful place. I could even teach you the steps to some of the dances if you like. I spent enough time in Latin countries to know my way around the dance floor."

We walked in, and the hostess brought us to our table. She was a were, but a clear broadcaster, so I knew immediately that she had slept with Eric in the past. I was under the assumption that he glamoured the women he slept with, but I guess this one slipped through the cracks. I put my shields up to avoid the graphic pictures of my boyfriend filtering through her mind.

When we sat down, I guess he picked up on my annoyance through the bond because he was on his best behavior. He even sat next to me and gave me a little cuddle time by wrapping his arm around me.

"Are you going to tell me why you're upset, or are you just going to let it stew and ruin our evening?"

"You slept with the hostess."

"I've slept with a lot of women, Sookie. But none since we've been together, as I told you the other night. You can't hold my past transgressions against me."

"You're right. It was just gross having to see it playing out in excruciating detail. You really rocked her world, by the way. I didn't think you were into weres or shifters."

"I'll never discriminate against a beautiful woman; be she human, shifter, or fae. I just choose not to drink from shifters since they taste nearly as awful as synthetic."

When the waiter came by, he ordered a bowl of paella and glass of wine for me, and a glass of Royalty Blended for himself, all in perfect Spanish. At least I assume it was perfect Spanish; I couldn't speak anything outside of English. We sat, sipping our beverages of choice and enjoying the guitar music. Eric told me that it was still early, but that there would be more music and dancing later in the evening.

I let the music wash over me, relaxing a little too much as my shields dropped down. I was suddenly privy to everyone's thoughts, and many of them were thinking about Eric. No fewer than ten women in the tiny restaurant had slept with him. Seeing him there again must have triggered memories of their nights together. The look of disgust on my face must have given me away. He tried to defend himself, but the waiter took that moment to bring my food over. Eric was lucky that it was delicious; otherwise I would have stormed out of the place without a moment's notice. It took all my concentration to keep the perverted thoughts out.

As soon as I finished, I asked if we could leave. I really didn't want to spend any more time than I had to in that den of inequity. I tried not to be angry at him, but the pain in my head was making me irritable. He checked his watch, noticing it was late enough to head to the movie theater. I shot all the girls I could recognize from their thoughts a dirty look as we walked out hand in hand. He was mine, and those bitches would just have to deal.

The movie theater was blissfully empty, so we found our seats and started to make out. I never had this experience as a teenager, since every boy in school thought I was a psycho. It was nice, but once the movie started, I pulled away. I had wanted to see it, but never thought I'd find someone to take me. I never pegged Eric as a chick flick kind of guy, but he most likely chose one he thought would make me happy. His thoughtfulness was the most romantic part.

When it was over, I was begging to find someone who could give me that hour and a half of my life back. The actors were horrible and the plot was stupid. We got back in the car, and Eric looked over at me.

"Did you enjoy it, at least?"

"Nope, sorry. It was pretty bad. Don't feel too bad though, I wanted to see it based off of the coming attractions. I couldn't have guessed it would be that terrible. Where are we off to next?"

"An old friend recently moved into the area and opened a night club, Lust. I told him I would stop by one night and thought we could have a good time. I know how much you love to dance."

The look in his eyes let me know exactly what he was talking about, the night at Club Dead where I danced with Tara. I almost forgot he was there that night. I could definitely go for a little dancing like that with him, especially if he moved as well as he claimed. If his performance in the bedroom was any indication, I was in for a fun time.

We drove up to the building, noticing the block long line. We'd be waiting for hours to get it. Luckily, Eric's name was on the guest list. I guess it made sense; it was a vampire owned bar, and Eric was Sheriff. No one would want to piss off the boss by making him wait in line. We walked through the door, and my ears were assaulted by the blaring music. Even Eric grimaced at the volume. This couldn't be a vampire bar; no vamp in their right mind would play music this loud.

We found an open table near the bar, where the volume was slightly more tolerable. Eric bought us an overpriced round of drinks. I thought a gin and tonic was a gin and tonic no matter where you went, but apparently I was wrong. This was a glass of tonic water with a splash of gin. Eric took a sip of his blood before setting on the edge of the table, never touching it again. A vampire walked over to the table, greeting Eric warmly. I guess he was the one that owned the bar. They chatted for a while before he left to go kiss ass elsewhere. I mouthed to Eric, "can we go now?" which he eagerly nodded the affirmative and we were out the door.

Back in the car, I asked him to just wait a moment while I gathered my thoughts. My headache from earlier was back, and brought some of its friends to bang around in my head. He offered me his wrist to ease the pain, but I declined. I didn't want to get so reliant on blood to cure even a headache. Yes, I'd accepted it when I was hungover, but I wanted to die in that moment. This was just a subtle throbbing in my skull.

He drove me back to Bon Temps near the speed limit, stroking my hand in a soothing motion, which really helped my pain. By the time we got back to my farmhouse, I was feeling human again. I invited him in to spend more time together, an invitation he accepted with a smile. He had looked particularly dark before the smile broke out across his face.

We made it to the living room, and he started a fire for us to cuddle in front of. He pulled me closer, running his hands over my back.

"I was sure after that lackluster date I planned, you would just send me on my way home."

"You'll just have to convince me to give you a redo."

"A redo?"

"A chance to do things over. I'm not going to break up with you over one crappy date. Everything that sucked was out of your control. Well, besides the fact that you've slept with half of Shreveport."

He pulled me closer to him, and I just buried myself in his arms. I could just stay like this forever and be perfectly content. We watched the embers dance in the fireplace without saying a word, but a shared sense of happiness flowed freely across our bond. It was still relatively early so I suggested watching a good movie to make up for the crap that we had just seen. He let me pick, and I took a minute to search through my DVD titles. I came across _Ghost_ and knew immediately it was a good choice. It always made me cry, but I loved it anyway.

We curled up on the couch, loving all the classic moments; the penny up the wall and of course the oh -so -sexy pottery scene. "Ditto," gosh I am such a sucker for a good romantic movie.

"A film about a love stronger than death. Excellent choice, Lover."

I didn't even think of that. I just really liked Patrick Swayze. I laid my head on his chest, and he ran his hands through my hair. This moment was so amazingly perfect I felt like I was in a movie for a minute. The movie had ended, leaving us in the silence with the slowly dying fire as the only light in the room.

I had the realization that nothing that happened tonight was for Eric. He had no reason to go to a restaurant, no desire to see that movie, and only went to the club to scope out the competition. He did everything for me; he knew I'd like the food, hoped I'd like the movie, and knew I loved to dance. I kissed his chest, right were his heart would be, over his shirt. I moved up his chest a little more, so that I could reach his lips. I gave him a small kiss, while stroking the sides of his face. It wasn't the type of kiss that led to funny business, just a sweet kiss that a girlfriend gives her boyfriend.

"Mm, and what was that for?"

"Just to thank you for a wonderful evening. It wasn't perfect, but you tried."

"I really did try," he said with laugh that reverberated throughout his chest. I felt ever tremor pass through his body since I was laying directly on top of him. Definitely no funny business tonight.

"I know. You were sweet to me, and thoughtful. You almost reminded me of the you I got to know without any memories."

"I can be sweet and thoughtful when I want to be. I just haven't had to be in a very long time."

"When was the last time?"

We stayed up the rest of the night. Eric shared stories of his life as a human with me, as well as stories of his travels around the world. He told me about women he fell madly in love with, only to learn the hard way how dangerous it could be to lead your life with emotions. While courting a girl in London, who he had fallen hard for, he dropped his guard and his secret had been exposed. He hid in the darkest corners of the house and when he tried to escape, he ran into the girl's sister who was sneaking back in late one night.

To keep her quiet and gain strength for his journey, he drained the young girl. When he looked down at her limp body in his arms, he saw the same beauty as her older sister. He stopped talking so I looked up at his face. He was staring into the fireplace which had long ago died out.

"It was Pam, wasn't it?"

He took another moment to collect his thoughts before starting again. "I turned her as a final reminder to guard myself. Of course, now the same thing has happened that occurs after every time I tell myself it would be the last time falling for a human."

"What?"

"I fall for a human."

He didn't say the three little words I wanted to hear, but he let his actions speak volumes. We walked back to my room for a little adult time, hoping to beat out the sunrise. Of course, Eric didn't disappoint and I was left very satisfied just as the sky began to lighten. He kissed me one last time for the night before going into the closet in the other room. If he kept this up, we'd be a real couple in no time.

**A/N2: Aw... he's such a sweetie when he's not going all Viking on people. Hope you had fun on their date night!**

**Now, some of the Spanish speaking readers will be upset with my butchering of their language but hear me out. In some dialects, what I said is true and the double L is a Y but in others it's a soft J. I learned it as a Y, so that's what I'm sticking with.**

**Also, I'm sad to report that there is one chapter left of this story, plus an epilogue. It's a good place to end things and I hope you all enjoyed the journey.**

**Please leave a little love, as reviews are the best drug known to man!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So this is it. My second story is complete :) There will be an epilogue that I'm still in the process of writing that will go up next week. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Thanks to my beta, chiisai-kitty, for going on this journey with me. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**EPOV**

As I crawled into the floor of the spare room's closet, a place I called home for three weeks, I realized just how much Hallow's spell had changed my life. Her choice of words placed me with the person my heart desired most. It took a spell for me to realize just how much I cared for Sookie. Of course, I had always found her beautiful and alluring, but to feel this strongly about her made my fragile mind spin.

Before the sun was fully in the sky, I had a few moments to reflect on the night. My date was a complete failure; it felt as if everything had gone wrong. When she invited me in, I was floored, but then again, my little telepath was always full of surprises. I learned that from now on, I'll let her choose the movie since she had fairly good taste. For a culture that loves to glamorize the supernatural in movies, humans really overreacted when we vampires came out of the coffin. I suppose it was more fun when they thought the things that go bump in the night weren't real.

Speaking to Sookie about my past deepened our already strong connection. I told her things that I had never shared with another being. I had even glamoured any memory of myself out of Pam's head before I turned her. She had no clue that I had been living next door to her for weeks, courting her sister. It had been my intention to go after the elder Ravenscroft girl, but in the wake of my exposure, I had to leave quickly. Running into Pam on my way out was chance, but as it turned out, she made for an excellent vampire. Fate worked in my favor that evening, as it did in Sookie's case.

When I rose the next evening, I was shocked to see several pieces from my own wardrobe laid out neatly on the bed. There was a note left on top of them in Sookie's girly handwriting.

_Eric,_

_I wasn't supposed to work tonight, but Sam asked if I'd come in since he had some errands to run. He says I'm the one he trusts most with his bar and you know I'm big on trust. If you want, you can come hang out with me or go back to Shreveport. I think you know what I would prefer._

_There were still some of your clothes here from your stay that I never gave back. I washed them for you to get the wrinkles out. I may or may not have thrown them in garbage bags with the intent to burn after you forgot our time together. _

_I'll see you later (maybe?)_

_Sookie_

I had a good laugh at her wordplay, but at the same time was a bit disheartened to know how deeply I had hurt her. It was never my intention to break her heart once I regained my memories, yet losing those from when I was cursed. How was I supposed to know I got in touch with my sensitive side? I had to admit it felt good to be able to drop my guard around Sookie. For centuries, I've kept my feelings secret, even from those closest to me. Opening up to Sookie felt so natural. It was only fair since during my time without memories, she had spent many nights opening up to me. She shared everything, from what brought her the most joy to her most painful times. I knew that my secrets would be safe with her, no matter what.

I showered, and spent a great deal of time fighting the urge to fly to Merlotte's and drag her back here caveman style to have my way with her. In her shower, I was surrounded by the soft scents that make up the perfume that is distinctly Sookie Stackhouse. I willed myself to relax, dressing casually in jeans and a v-neck t-shirt. I drank down a vile bottle of True Blood, not knowing for certain if Sookie would find time to duck away to offer me a more satisfying meal. Before I left her home, I removed one of the lilies from last night to bring to the bar; according to Abby, women love getting flowers at work.

I found Sookie's car in the rear of the lot, and parked next to it. I figured the employee section would be the safest place for my beloved Corvette. As I walked through the door, I was greeted with what was quickly becoming my favorite sight. Sookie was standing behind the bar, hysterically laughing with a broad smile beaming across her face. Most noticeable, however, was the pink lily tucked behind her ear. She had already seen fit to show off my gifts to her colleagues; how sweet.

I approached the bar, and when she noticed me, her smile grew impossibly wider. I handed her the flower I brought, an orange lily to compliment the pink one she had chosen, as luck would have it. She blushed and it took all I had not to kiss her in the middle of the bar. I had to remember that in public, I was still Sheriff Northman. Nothing like acting like a teenager in love to make me lose respect from those in my retinue. Noticing no vampires were present, I pressed a quick kiss to that sensitive spot on her neck before walking over to a booth. Since she was only there in a managerial role, she wasn't waiting on tables. I waved off the annoying redhead that came over to take my order. From what Sookie told me, this Arlene had been spending a great deal of time with members of the Fellowship of the Sun. I would have to keep an eye on that situation to insure Sookie's safety.

After a short while of making eyes from across the restaurant, Sookie came over to my table carrying a tray. Once she set it down, I noticed it contained a bottle of blood, a diet coke, and a hamburger. She passed the blood to me, and sat down opposite me. She started eating, nearly inhaling her meal. She looked up at me, blushing when she realized I was staring at her while she ate. She started to speak, but realized she had a mouth full of food. She smiled awkwardly, her blush deepening by the minute, as she chewed.

"Does it weird you out when I eat? It used to weird Bill out when I ate in front of him. I mean, it was your idea to go eat together last night, but I sorta just plopped down here and starting chowing down. I've been acting as manager for the past few hours and haven't had a chance to eat dinner."

"Bill is an idiot and that's a fact, not an opinion. Why would it 'weird me out' when you eat? It's a perfectly normal human need. You truly do enjoy your food, you make these happy little noises when you eat."

"I what?"

"You make happy noises. Little moans and groans that go straight to my..."

"Eric! We're in public, don't talk like that."

I laughed as she scolded me. We proceeded to chat for a short while before she had to return to the bar. In addition to filling in for Sam in his role as manager, she was also playing the role of bartender. I was tempted to make a call to one of my employees to have them cover for her, but she'd just yell at me for being high handed. She would have to stay at the bar anyway to keep an eye on things.

She would come by my table every now and then when she would deliver drinks to a table. As long as the bar remained vampire free, I indulged her with secret kisses, which always made her smile and giggle. Despite working all day, she was still in a playful mood, dancing with her friend Tara to a song on the jukebox at one point. It was nothing compared to their routine in Jackson, but she still flashed a seductive wink my way. The things she could do with one wink floored me. I couldn't believe it, but I was in love with her.

As the hours passed by, the bar had started to quiet down. Despite numerous profanity-laced texts from Pam, I was still sitting in a rundown bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana because I was in love with the acting manager. I found myself getting excited whenever she came by. She ruffled my hair at one point, which I did not appreciate. It won her a smack on the ass, which earned me a squeak and a dirty look. She was still adorable even when she was mock-angry with me.

Around midnight, the shifter walked through the door, looking worn down. I could sense that Sookie was feeling tired, but wasn't showing it. Whether it was for my benefit or Sam's, she still wore her bright smile and walked with a bounce in her step. I had to remember to stop feeding her so much of my blood; it just felt so good when she did so during sex. No human had this level of stamina after staying up all night with me.

She had a quick discussion with Sam, both of them looking my way several times. He sighed, shrugged his shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. He made eye contact with me during the embrace; he knew exactly what statement he was making. As a Supe himself, he knew what it meant to touch a vampire's bonded in such an intimate manner. Another creature I'd have to write off on the "Okay to hug Sookie" list. She'd end me, or even worse us, before allowing me to dictate the she couldn't hug her friends.

She came over to me finally, reeking of shifter, suggesting we head back to the farmhouse. I wasn't one to say no, and quickly we were heading back to her home. I pulled in behind her up the driveway, hoping for at least a quickie before I headed back to Shreveport. I'm sure she could convince me to stay another night if she tried hard enough.

**SPOV**

I waited for him at the back door, and let us both in once he got out of his precious Corvette. As soon as the door closed behind us, he was on me. He pressed me against the wall where just a few days ago, he had taken me passionately and it appeared that he had every intention of recreating that moment. He had my clothes spread through the kitchen, and nearly had his pants off when his phone started ringing. And ringing. Over and over again. I gave him a look that said he wasn't getting any until it stopped. Nothing killed the mood like The Clash's "London Calling."

"So help me God, Pamela, I mean it this time; I will torture you to extents which even I didn't think possible. If the bar isn't burning to the ground or someone isn't dead, you can handle it."

I could just barely hear her, even though his head was so close to mine. I heard something about Compton and worried that Bill had gotten himself into trouble.

"So?"

Another bit of muffled conversation. Couldn't pick anything out of it this time.

"I'll be there."

He hung up the phone and threw it at the wall. Watching it shatter to bits gave me a clear indication that Bill was in serious trouble. One look from Eric let me know I wasn't getting anything out of him about it.

"I have to go. There's been an incident at the bar that needs my attention."

"Can I come with? Sam gave me some time off in exchange for covering for him and I thought it would be nice to go to Shreveport. That is, if you'll have me. I really liked your house."

I wanted to spend more time with him. We were started to develop something great, and with my time off from Sam, it was the perfect scenario. I could tell he was surprised, but it was good to keep him on his toes. Plus, I wanted to take up residence in either his shower or Pam's closet.

"Of course, Lover. Why don't you pack a bag? I'll wait right here."

"Deal. Maybe you could sweep up your cell phone while I pack?"

I could hear him bitching in the kitchen, but I also heard the broom dragging across the floor. He made the mess; he should be the one to clean it up. The phone was in a billion tiny pieces; none of which I wanted to take care of.

I let him drive to the bar, since I'd just slow him down. He told me I could borrow his car if I needed to travel during the day, but I wouldn't dare drive his Corvette. He assured me he had other vehicles, and he would arrange for the one I'd be most comfortable driving to be dropped off to the house first thing in the morning. Slightly high handed, but thoughtful, so I'd let it slide.

Once we got to the bar, he dropped me off at his booth where a waitress brought over a gin and tonic, made perfectly might I add. He didn't give me a kiss this time, but I knew it was because of all the vampires present. I got away with a lot at Merlotte's and didn't want to push my luck. He was in his office for a while. Every now and then, during a lull in the music, I could hear loud crashy type noises coming from the rear of the bar. I knew it was bad because every time it happened, Pam smiled. It wasn't a good smile; it was a creepy, sadistic smile. I think that's the only type of smile that's ever on Pam's face.

I limited myself to two gin and tonics since I didn't want a replay of the night of the Queen's party. By the time I drained my second glass, Pam had come over to entertain me. I guess Eric felt bad about ignoring me and he sent a little company my way. We chatted about nothing in particular, keeping it light. She wouldn't reveal anything about what was happening in the office, or even confirm that it was Bill in there. I decided to move the conversation towards girlie things, and complimented her on her clothes at Eric's house. She laughed before answering me.

"Dear, those are cast offs from seasons' past. If you like anything, it's yours. Those are just emergency clothes for the off chance I stay with Eric."

Images off all the glamorous clothes from that closet flashed through my eyes. I wonder if Eric would be weirded out with me wearing Pam's old clothes. After my mental fashion show ended, I started listening to the music again. Lady GaGa's "Monster" came on the radio and I really wanted to dance. It was currently my favorite song to dance around the house to, but I didn't know if it would be a good idea to dance alone at Fangtasia. Pam seemed to pick up on my mood and offered to dance with me. I thought about it for a minute before agreeing.

We were out on the dance floor for a few songs, having an absolute blast. The alcohol was flowing through my veins, not enough to really mess me up, but just enough to lower my inhibitions. When Jace Everett's "Bad Things" came on, there was suddenly a set of hands on my hips. I was startled at first, hoping the magic around me wouldn't go haywire and kill everyone on the dance floor.

All my nerves went away when a husky voice whispered in my ear, "I'd love to do real bad things to you, Lover."

Pam left the dance floor with a wink and I melted into the strong arms of my Viking. I was glad the alcohol was working because I'd never do half the things I did on that floor sober. We were bumping and grinding, and hands were everywhere. I could hear the upset of some of the fangbangers, but they would just have to get used to me and Eric together. None of them ever got this type of treatment from him and they were super jealous.

I didn't know how much of it was Eric wanting to dance with me and how much was him marking me as his own. For someone who was adamant about not having public displays of affection in front of vampires, he was being mighty affectionate. I'd have to go with him marking his territory, but I wasn't about to start complaining. My prediction was right; Eric was an amazing dancer.

He spun me around in his arms so we were face to face. I was hoping for a kiss when I saw his lips heading towards me, but with a quick detour, they were on my neck. He was kissing and nipping the sensitive skin there and I was starting my trip to heaven. He held me close to him and I could feel that he was as aroused as I was. But that's when it dawned on me. The way his lips were positioned on my neck made it look like he was feeding from me. Our entire performance was just like watching a big dog piss on everything in sight.

He must have picked up on my change in moods because next thing I knew, he was dragging me towards his office. The place was a little disheveled; there were papers on the floor and one of the chairs had been thrown across the room with one of its legs ripped off.

"Did you stake Bill?"

"What? No, I just gave him a good scare. It's a good thing vampires have no bodily functions because he would have shit his pants."

"What happened while I was out there? I don't like being kept in the dark."

He leaned against his desk, contemplating whether he should tell me or not. I could see him weighing the options back and forth. "Or you could tell me why you felt the need to treat me like a dog treats a tree. Jeez, I mean, possessive much?"

"Since you and Bill stopped dating, his claim on you was forfeit. Any vampire in the Area could have easily grabbed you for himself. I was just trying to protect you. You didn't seem to mind it before your brain kicked into overdrive. When you just let your emotions guide you, you were enjoying my attention."

"I always enjoy when you have your hands on me. I just don't like being treated like an object, waiting to be claimed."

I pouted like a five year old, but I didn't care. He pulled me closer to him, so I was nestled between his legs, resting my upper half against his chest. He wrapped his arms around my midsection, and I put mine around his neck. Even if I was mad at him, I'd never turn down a hug. I knew he was just trying to calm me down, but just this one time, I could let him.

"You said it yourself, Lover, you are mine. I was simply conveying the message to others. They're the ones that need to know they can't touch you without meeting their final death."

I huffed, wanting him to think I was still angry. He had a valid point, but I wanted to see how far I could milk it.

"I'll stop being mad at you if you tell me what happened to Bill. I know he was involved, I heard Pam say his name on the phone."

"You run a tough negotiation. I could make you stop being mad at me in many other ways, though. I imagine sitting you on that couch and burying my face between your legs until I have you screaming in ecstasy. All the anger would just leave your body."

I blushed, burying my face into his chest so he couldn't see. I'm not used to hearing things like that out loud, just in the minds of the pervs that sit in my section. I had to admit, it turned me on hearing them in Eric's husky sexy voice. Must. Stay. Focused. I needed to know Bill was okay.

"You could do both. Tell me first, and then we'll mess around on the couch."

"I thought talking always came after sex?"

"True, but this time, if there's no talking, there's no sex."

"Bill is fine, I assure you. He's on his way to New Orleans as we speak."

"I thought he was on his way there a few days ago. What happened?"

"On his way out of town, he struck a girl with his car by accident. He panicked, and did the first thing he could think of; he turned her. When she rose tonight, she revealed that she was only seventeen. Since the Revelation, we've stopped turning minors to prevent any legal issues."

"So he's in trouble?"

"Yes, but not with me. The accident occurred in Area Three, but he didn't know what to do so he came back here. The girl is very annoying, by the way. It took all my willpower not to break her jaw to make her stop talking."

"You're a saint, keep going."

"He's still technically a resident of Area Five, until he claims residence of a home in Area One, that's New Orleans, the Queen's jurisdiction. To make it easier to deal with, both the Sheriff of Area Three and I have decided to hand matters over to the Queen."

"But the Queen loves Bill; he's her little lap dog. Nothing's going to happen to punish him for breaking the rules."

"Quite the contrary, Lover. He's found his way to her bad side. It doesn't take much, she's an eternal teenager; she changes her mind more often than she changes her clothes."

"So he's screwed? You don't think she'll kill him, do you?"

"I doubt it. He does have value with this little computer project he's working on. Besides, all Sophie needs to do is spend five minutes with Jessica to realize that the appropriate punishment is to order Bill to care for her for eternity. I am a saint for sitting in this room with her for so long. Care to worship at my alter?"

"I thought you were about to kneel before mine?"

He growled out his response, leading me backwards towards the couch. I didn't know what made me say those words, but I was feeling pretty damn brave. I'll listen to Jaime Foxx and blame it on the alcohol. My pants were gone before I could blink and he kept his word. I was screaming his name shortly thereafter, clutching any part of him I could reach. As I lay there panting on the couch, he placed tender kisses along the insides of my thighs, letting me wind down after several mind blowing orgasms.

He helped me up and spun me around so I was facing the back of the couch. He molded his body to mine, letting me feel how hard he was already. He ran his hands up my sides, lifting my shirt up and off. He gently urged me forward until my knees hit the couch. I was kneeling against the seat, and he placed my hands on the back of the couch. He ran his hands up my arms, letting them trail down my back, coming to rest on my hips. I felt him behind me and as he entered me, I dug my nails into the leather.

He pulled my hips back to meet every one of his thrusts, heightening the experience. It was like a two for one sale and sent me over the edge in record time. He groaned as my muscles clamped down around him, bracing himself against the wall. When he brought his hand down next to mine, I placed my hand over his, wrapping my fingers around his. He kept going, but the added connection of holding hands added to the pleasurable sensations. The hand on my hip came around my front and his fingers found my nub with ease.

My body felt like it was on fire, as if I was struck by lightning. As his fangs found my neck, I screamed out in pure ecstasy, unable to contain it or even try to stay quiet. I screamed his name and out to God, anyone willing to listen really. I'm sure half the bar could hear us too, but I really didn't care. Eric wanted everyone to know we were together and they most definitely did now. I should probably be ashamed of that, but I wasn't. Eric made me feel bold; he made me feel a lot of things really.

As we came down from our collective highs, I heard him mumbling something against my neck. I couldn't understand what he was saying and asked him to speak up. He fell against the arm of the couch, pulling me to lie on top of him. He ran his fingers through my hair, in a moment that felt a lot like last night's, and tilted my chin up to look into his eyes.

"I said, I wished last night's date went as well as this one."

"This wasn't a date."

"No? We had dinner together at Merlotte's then came out here together to dance. And just like any good date, it ended with us naked and snuggling. Sounds like a perfect date to me."

"Hm, I guess you're right. Well then, Mr. Northman, you put together one hell of a re-do date."

He kissed me softly but passionately. When he pulled back, I could see the depth of his eyes, like two deep pools of emotion. Happiness and contentment were flowing across the bond, tinted with something else. I wanted to tell him I loved him, just like I used to do when he didn't have his memories. What I wanted more than that was for him to say it to me. I didn't think it would ever happen.

"Sookie."

He pulled me out of my head, with just one word. I decided to take his advice from earlier and just lead with my heart, my emotions.

"I love you, Eric. This you, the real you."

He paused for a minute. His eyes looked away, but only briefly. They were soon locked back on mine, full of emotion.

"Jag älskar dig."

I smiled at him, one he shared. It reached his eyes, and I could see how happy he was. It finally dawned on me that we were cuddling, buck naked on the couch in his office, with the door unlocked.

"Let's go home, back to your place."

"Now that sounds perfect."

Pam convinced him to sit on his throne for a little while, snarling at the vermin. The slutty ones still tried to come on to him even after our performance on the dance floor, but I didn't let them bother me. They could flirt all they wanted, he was coming home with me. I was going to his private home, his favorite home, and I was going to stay there with him until Sam sent the troops out to come find me.

It was near dawn. We were both in bed, the sheets and blanket a complete disaster; I was covered in sweat and panting after the marathon love making session we had just had. That's right, a love making session, Eric Northman admitted he loved me and showed me many many many times. Dating Eric without his memories those few weeks was perfect. This wasn't what we had back then, but it was pretty close to perfect on its own. Real relationships take work and I knew we were worth it.

**A/N2: *sniff* That's it folks!**

**On to bigger and better things, I've decided to start a new story (I'm a glutton for punishment) that is totally fan driven. That's right, I'm giving you Dear Pam. I need readers to send me letters via PM written from the perspective of someone in the Supe community; either vamp, were, fae, etc, or a human who's part of it all. I'll post a few at a time, with responses written in Pam's voice. You can ask for dating advice, advice on how to blend in with humans, whatever you like. In the typical Dear Abby form, no names should be used. If you would like to see an example of the format, search for Dear Abby and go to any of the many archieves of her letters. I'll post an example, hopefully tomorrow, to give you some ideas. **

**Thank you all for your love and support!**

**~Lubadub**


	17. Epilogue

**A/N: This is officially it. The last chapter of What it Means to Forget. I doubt there will be a sequel. I think everything wrapped up nicely here. I want to thank chiisai-kitty for all her hard work fixing my all too common mistakes. I want to send a big thank you and tons of kisses to you amazing readers who stuck this out with me. We had our ups and downs, but that's what makes a story memorable. **

**Just a reminder: I'm part of the Support Stacie Auction. Information can be found in my profile. The auction runs from March 26-29. **

**Disclaimer: It's not mine**

I was sitting in front of the mirror in my freshly renovated bathroom. Eric had installed a huge tub for us, and a gorgeous vanity for me. I was brushing my hair out, reminiscing about the year that was. I couldn't believe that just over a year ago, Eric held me in his arms and told me he loved me. We had come so far in such a short time.

I'm not saying there weren't bumps in the road. Louisiana was taken over by the King of Nevada after he brutally killed Sophie Anne and Andre. It was only fair, she had killed off the King of Arkansas. This led to some tension between Eric and I, since he was putting in extra hours to insure a spot in the new regime. We barely saw each other for almost two months; that puts a serious strain on a relationship. I was slightly bummed since Hadley also met her final death in the melee. She and I had never gotten close, but she was still family.

Speaking of family, Jason had gotten Crystal pregnant. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy they named Corbett, after our dad. He couldn't shift, but that was the purpose of forcing Jason into that compromising position. Hotshot needed fresh blood and Corbett Norris Stackhouse was as fresh as it got. I prayed he inherited his dad's wild streak so Jason would know what it's like to worry about someone being out all hours of the night.

Alcide and Debbie almost had a baby, too. I say almost, not because of the all too common shifter miscarriage, but because she had lied to him about it to get him to marry her. He was smart enough to have the union annulled because of the fraud. Now he was dating a nice werewolf named Amanda, the same were who owned La Luna Llena. Eric and I had never gone back after that date from hell, which was a shame since the food was delicious.

The weres had announced their existence, following suit from the vampires. The reaction was generally the same; some were shocked and horrified, others were accepting. It didn't hurt that unlike vampires, the two-natured look and act just like humans, except under the full moon. The Fellowship of the Sun expanded their hate to all supernatural creatures. Arlene, who had joined their annoying little group, quit the day after the announcement. Sam was hurt until a sweet little shifter named Daphne came looking for a job. No one even missed Arlene anymore.

Everybody was having babies or pretending to have babies, but not Crazy Sookie. Nope, I had to go and fall in love with a vampire. A vampire who just last week took a knife from my hands and became my husband in the eyes of the vampire community. And in a few minutes, he would be my husband in the eyes of the state of Louisiana.

Our pledging ceremony was the talk of the Supe community in the South. The affair was huge. Eric had booked a hall at a Supe owned hotel and had hired an exclusive Supe party planner, John Quinn from E(E)E, to coordinate our pledging ceremony. Since he was a Sheriff, it was a huge deal that he was pledging himself to a human.

He said it wasn't necessary for me to get a big wedding dress, but if I wanted the pomp of the big ceremony, we could take our night that direction. I never dreamed about the big wedding with the big princess dress. In fact, I had never dreamed of getting married. After realizing what my disability was, I resigned myself to the fact that I would never find a man who would want to marry me. Pam took me on a road trip to New Orleans to do some "serious shopping." She said we would never find anything appropriate in Northern Louisiana, we had to head to the big city. I didn't mind, since it would give me a chance to see Amelia again.

The three of us had a blast going shopping. Pam took us to some big designer store, and I spent hours trying on dresses ranging in style from ballgowns to simple slip dresses. The moment I put on the dress, I knew it was the one. It was floor length, strapless with sweetheart neckline and an empire waist. It was simple, understated, clean and most important, looked amazing on me.

After finding amazing gold sandals, we proceeded to just crash at Amelia's apartment. The three of us had a kick ass girls' night. They wanted to take me out for a bachelorette party, but that was not my scene. I was just as happy to hang out on Amelia's couch, watching crappy movies, bashing the lead actresses and crushing on the actors, stuffing our faces with every junk food imaginable.

Amelia came back to Bon Temps with us so she could be there for the pledging. It was so nice to hang out with her and show her around town. She bonded immediately with Tara and Claudine, so we had another girls' night. Pam declined coming out again, as to avoid accidentally killing Claudine. I got super trashed, we all did, and woke up the day of the pledging with a killer headache. The four of us nursed our hangovers at the spa, helping me primp for the big night.

The service started a few hours after sunset. I walked down the aisle, carrying a bouquet of stargazer lilies, towards my Viking. He looked stunning, as always, in a tuxedo, waiting for me at the altar. I looked around the room, not recognizing many of the faces. Members of Alcide's pack were here, as were Jason and Crystal, and a huge contingent of Area Five vampires. Everyone else was invited for political reasons, but they didn't really matter to me. Claudine was absent, again for her own protection, and Tara didn't feel comfortable being there with members of every branch of the Supe tree. I couldn't blame her, honestly.

I didn't really understand the customs, but I followed along pretty well. When two vampires were pledging, they drank each other's blood from a sacred chalice. When a vampire pledged himself to a human, however, they got to drink right from the source. I guess they didn't want to dirty their fancy goblet with human blood. I preferred it this way, even if we'd never exchanged blood in front of an audience before.

Our master of ceremonies, also taken care of by Quinn, handed me a knife which I was supposed to hand to Eric. Eric used the knife to cut a small wound into my neck, which he then drank from. I was grateful I went with the strapless dress, my entire neck and shoulders were exposed. No worries about getting blood on the dress, even though Eric never missed a drop. After he healed the cut, he used the knife on his wrist and gave it to me to drink from. And that was it. We were officially married in the eyes of vampires.

We did the requisite honeymoon to a Supe resort; imagine Sandals with vampires. We were gone for two weeks in Bora Bora. Eric managed to find a resort that we could both appreciate; sunshine during the day, beautiful starlit beaches at night. Every night when he rose, he had to tell me how delicious my skin tasted; how he could taste the sunshine on every inch of me. And he certainly did.

When we got home, something didn't feel right. We fell into the motions, spending time in Shreveport and Bon Temps evenly. I still worked at Merlotte's, he still ran Fangtasia. A little wedding wasn't going to screw up our plans. Eric bought us gorgeous wedding bands, a simple platinum band with a single ruby in each. I was appreciative of the fact that he kept it tasteful while keeping some of his signature style. It helped settles some of the bad feelings but there was something still nagging in the back of my mind.

I started calling him my husband around Supes and humans. People around town looked at me funny, since they hadn't heard about the pledging, or even really understand what a pledging was. And that's when it hit me. I wanted to get married for real. I drove home in my new Saab, a wedding gift from Pam, to tell Eric the good news. He had picked up on my sour mood, but couldn't do anything to improve it since even I didn't know what was bothering me.

He wasn't really my husband; he had just pledged himself to me. I didn't feel married since I didn't have a real wedding. If I was going to be someone's wife, I was doing it the proper way. I ran into the farmhouse, where he was patiently waiting for me. He had hoped spending more time in Bon Temps would help my bad moods, which it did slightly. Now I had the real solution and I knew he would do anything to make it right. As I explained my plan to have a legal human wedding, his look went from perplexed to amused.

"Are you telling me a simple piece of paper signed by a human judge will make you happy? The Shreveport City Hall has night hours tomorrow, we'll do it then."

He grabbed his cell phone and called City Hall. I guess as a business owner, he was used to dealing with their offices. He made us an appointment with a justice of the peace and to get the appropriate paperwork filled out. Five minutes later, we were all set. It really was that simple. The black cloud that had been hanging over my head since the pledging lifted. Knowing that Eric would be my husband in every sense of the word was what I'd really wanted. We made love all night, something we hadn't done since the honeymoon. I'd been trapped up in my head, unable to let go and enjoy the amazing things my vampire could do to my body.

I woke the next morning, and Sam was my first phone call. He had skipped out on the pledging, but I wasn't letting him miss my wedding. He was my best friend, the one person I could always count on. He and Eric had grown closer over the past few months. The Fellowship of the Sun had attacked Merlotte's shortly after the shifters revealed their true nature. Eric stepped up, even before I asked him, giving Sam an interest-free loan and offering jobs to the displaced waitresses at Fangtasia. After being a sweetheart and giving me the night off, Sam agreed to come with us. Jason was my next call, then Tara and Alcide. They all agreed to meet us at the courthouse. I left Pam a voicemail, not sure if Eric got in touch with her before the sun rose.

I was buzzing with excitement for the rest of the day. I was getting married completely on the whim, something very out of character for me. I supposed I was confident in spending the rest of my life with Eric and knew that I'd be happy being his legal wife. I made an appointment to get my hair and make up done and then headed over to the tailor. I didn't think buying a new wedding dress was needed, but I wanted to change up the one I had. I decided the easiest thing to do would be to shorten the length; it transformed from a full length gown to just above my knees.

After leaving the dress for its alterations, I headed to the salon. Checking my watch, I noticed I still had two hours until sunset. That left plenty of time for pampering, which was my current indulgence. I had to admit that as a waitress, getting a weekly pedicure was heaven. Before Eric, I would never consider it a worthy use of my hard earned money, but knowing that I had someone who could help take care of me was nice. Don't get me wrong, I was still an independent woman, but I let Eric spoil me with little things every now and then. If sponsoring my weekly mani/pedi kept him from buying me insane gifts, I could let him.

My hair was set in fabulous curls, my make up was perfect and my dress fit like a dream. I got a few things gathered together, knowing we weren't heading back to Bon Temps after the ceremony. I paced the living room impatiently, waiting for Eric to rise. Since we were spending so much time at the farmhouse, he completely transformed the upper level of the house into a light tight room for himself. I'd admit to spending time up there during the day, too.

I heard the door open upstairs, and in the time it took me to turn around and face the stairs, Eric was standing before me. He looked stunning in a classic black suit, tailored to fit him perfectly, and a crisp white shirt. I swear he could make a burlap sack look sexy. I watched as his eyes took in my appearance. His fangs sliding down into place was an obvious sign that he liked what he saw. I tossed him his keys and was out the door before he had a chance to wreck my dress. I knew I looked good, and would not let a quick romp ruin my day's work. He would just have to save that for after the wedding.

We got to City Hall in no time with Eric's lead foot. As we were filling out the loads of paperwork, our friends started to show up. Jason and Crystal were the last to show with my adorable nephew, blaming their tardiness on the baby. Eric signed the last form with a flourish, and since everyone had shown up, we were all set to get started. We were led to a small room and told the justice of the peace would be with us shortly.

For the first time since I had my epiphany yesterday, I was nervous. I knew this was the right decision, but every bride gets butterflies, I suppose. With one glance from across the room by Eric, it all went away. I looked into his eyes, ignoring Crystal rambling next to me, and everything stopped. I was lost in those baby blues, falling in love all over again. He gave me a smile, a smile that was reserved for me, and I just melted. All my nerves flew right out the window. I walked away from my annoying sister in law, needing to be closer to him. I tucked myself under his arm and joined his conversation with Pam. He pressed a kiss to the crown of my head and all was right in the world.

The justice of the peace came in and our friends all sat down. The ceremony passed by in a blur. Eric and I had slipped our rings off before hand so we could give them to each other again when we said our vows. When he slipped the band over my finger, I knew it was time to pay attention so I could say the right words. I repeated my vows, word for word, and I couldn't stop the tears from sliding down my face.

I slid the ring over his finger and we were pronounced vampire and wife. Eric pulled me in a for a kiss that made me glad this was not a church service. At first I was worried about what my friends might think, but I could feel his tongue begging for entrance, and I was not one to deny him. They'd forgive me for a little PDA just this once; it was my wedding night after all. I think our kiss lasted longer than the rest of the ceremony, but I couldn't care. We finally stopped after the justice of the peace cleared his throat so he could hand us the marriage license.

My friends all wrapped me up in hugs, one after the other, in congratulations. Alcide suggested that we all go out to dinner to celebrate, but Eric and I had other plans. We ran from City Hall as fast as we could back to the Corvette. Eric drove as fast as I had ever seen him to get back to our home in Shreveport. He growled when the gate into the community rolled open slowly. I giggled at his impatience, but it was totally understandable. Last night notwithstanding, we hadn't been having the most amazing sex of our lives recently. He was just as excited to get to bed as I was.

I swore he was going to drive through the wall of the garage just to get into the house faster. He scooped me out of the car and in the house in a burst of vampire speed. I was on the bed and naked before I could even blink. I was about to protest about him tearing my wedding dress, when he held it up damage free. He was moving faster than I had ever seen; he undid my zipper without me even feeling his fingers on my skin. He joined me in bed, completely undressed and pulled me into his arms for a nice, deep kiss that made our wedding smooch look innocent.

His hands traveled up my ribs to cup my breasts. I loved the way his cool skin felt against my heated body. I also loved the way his body felt on top of mine, which it currently was. His kisses were traveling down my neck. I could feel the point of his fangs as his kissing got more intense. My body was going into sensation overload; my mind couldn't process everything so I just let it shut down. I let the physical sensations take over; letting my body dictate the pace. Heck, I'd just let Eric take over; he was especially good at that.

His lips found mine again, muffling my moan as he slid into me. Even after all this time, my body was stretched to the limit whenever we made love. Last night was a rush, a hungry need for the other. Tonight was sweet and soft. Whispered words of love and affection in each other's ear, in languages that I understood and some I didn't, passed between us. When words couldn't do our feelings justice, we let our hands and bodies take over.

We were both close to the finish and I was begging for him to bite me. The feeling of my husband feeding from me was what I needed to push me over the edge. He bit down on his own wrist, pressing it to my lips before he bit down on my breast. That was one of his favorites; he loved when we exchanged blood simultaneously. My orgasm was ripped out of me the moment his fangs pierced my skin. He was the only man who could make me feel this way. Of course, he was only the second of two men I've slept with but I was willing to look passed that now.

We cuddled together in a post-coital bliss after another few rounds. I swear, my vamp could go all night if I let him. Some nights I was up for it, last night being a prime example of that, but for tonight, I just needed a good snuggle session. He ran his fingers through my hair, taming the wild sex hair snarls away. My fingers were doing a little wandering of their own, tracing over his chest and arms; basically any available skin I could reach. I could feel myself start to drift off to sleep, perfectly content for the first time in what felt like a long time. Eric, sensing my drowsiness, kissed me softly then kissed each of my eyelids as they closed.

"My wife?"

He had called me that before, but now it sounded so much better. I forced my eyes open so I could be conscious when he asked his question.

"Yes, my husband?" Oh, exponentially better now that we're really married.

"You should rest now. I fully intend on keeping you up until dawn. Restore your strength while you can."

How's a girl supposed to get any sleep when guarantees like that are on the table? Who needed sleep anyway? Who wastes time napping on their own wedding night? Not this barmaid, that's for certain. I'd give him a night of passion no curse could make him forget.

**A/N2: I'm sorry it took me so long to get out. Little Muse Sookie just did not want to cooperate. I hope it was worth the wait. Same thing applies to Danger in Dixie. I'm hoping to get some time to work on it later this week. Between writer's block, dissatisfaction with the story and real life, Dixie got pushed to the back burner. Now that this epilogue is done, I'm going to go find the love for that story again. If only Pilot Eric from Terminal Attraction would shut up for five minutes...**


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